Wow! It Engages Teachers, Too!

Recently I was leading a professional development workshop in gifted education with teachers at a private school near my home. It was a group of about 25 educators who were from a variety of private schools and who taught a variety of subject areas and grade levels. We were working on the standard foundational training in gifted education required by law in Texas for teachers of gifted students and following the standards set by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented, our state advocacy organization. (NAGC and CEC have also set standards for teachers of gifted students.)

The first activity I always do is a simple matching activity that asks participants to match "big names" in gifted education with a description of their contributions to the field. It is a wonderful pre-assessment for our day. It is exceedingly rare that participants correctly match more than two or three correctly. When it happens, I know I'll need to adjust my questioning and activities to accommodate the participant's needs. Usually, participants look at the paper, look at each other, and comment on how few they know. There are a few moments of nervous laughter as they discuss a few and try to guess, but often pages are left quite blank waiting for the answers to be given.

This time when the group began the activity, something different happened. They looked at the paper. They looked at each and talked about the few they knew. Then, they whipped out their cell phones. In every group, there were at least two people with digital devices who began seaching for answers. These are devices they carry with them, not devices I provided. As they found information, they read it aloud and the group discussed which answer fit the new information. As I observed the groups, every participant was engaged in the search for the answer. Even if they weren't on a device, they were discussing and debating the found information. My pre-assessment took on a life of it's own.


I've been working with teachers to embed technology tools in their classrooms. I've been telling them, and trying to show them, that technology tools engage students in a meaningful way. Turns out, it engages teachers, too!

Do you have a similar story about technology engaging students or teachers?

ISTE Reflections

What an amazing and exhausting experience! I feel healthier after 4 days of extreme walking at the largest conference I’ve ever attended. The exhibit hall had 32 rows and took 6 hours to navigate – and that’s not visiting with everyone or participating in most of the give-aways! What are the big themes I noticed? Social networking, everything in “the cloud,” 3-D (printers and interactive video/web sites), iPads, and QR codes.

Here are my highlights from the conference sessions.

Tammy Worcester (www.tammyworcester.com) – Tammy’s Top 20 Favorite Free Web Tools!

You can get her handout here: http://bit.ly/iEdaoc Many of her favorites are familiar to me. New ones include:

• Jam Studio (www.jamstudio.com) where you can create your own music.
• BibMe (www.bibme.org) an incredible bibliography tool that links to Amazon to pull book info and even generates the bibliography page for you in the style (APA or MLA) of your choice
• Evernote and Dropbox I’ve heard about before, but haven’t started using them.
  
• She also shared some tricks on Google Spreadsheets, which I plan to research and play with to figure out applications for teacher professional development.

Heidi Hayes Jacobs (www.curriculum21.com) – Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World

Her focus was using the right tool for the job – what function does the tool do best. She also emphasized that new genre were developing and we need to definite quality for each. What is a quality podcast? Wiki? Blog? She emphasized the non-linear process of learning and how tech tools match it. She strongly encouraged participants to replace one assessment in every grade level with a tech based product.

Jerry Brueck (@brueckj23), Chris Craft (@crafty184), and Jon Becker (@jonbecker) - #teach w/ #tweet

This session focused on Twitter in the classroom. The emphasis was on connecting your classroom to others globally via Twitter – especially for world events in real time. Best thought came from Chris Craft who indicated Twitter is to connect with others without having a pre-existing relationship as is required (or best practices) with Facebook. They also described using Dragon Dictation, Audio Boo and Ustream.tv (all iPhone apps) to allow PK students to Tweet. Fascinating idea!

They have developed an intro to Twitter course that they share with all: http://bit.ly/bei-tweet

• USER bei.guest
• PASS innovate

Karen Fasimpaur (www.k12opened.com) – Open Educational Resources: Share, Remix, Learn

In this session, we reviewed a number of open resources. Most are under the Creative Commons BY license so they are very adaptable, or as Karen put it, they can be remixed. Her presentation is available here: http://bit.ly/kJ8P7g

Copyright legalities were emphasized. Be sure to always give credit for works you are using – even with Creative Commons BY copyright. It is the lowest level – giving the most access – you only need to credit the source. The source is the person who created it, not the web site, though providing and URL is recommended. Karen also recommended using CC BY on all your creations so that others can use them for remixing.

Here are some highlighted tools/sites:

• Freereading.net – static Adobe books you can put into other formats to liven up
  
• Livebinder – digital binder for organization websites and information you find
• Wikimedia – great first source for open resources
• CCMixter – for open resource music
• Freesound – for sound effected
• Teachers’ Domain – open licensed PBS content – be sure to filter for permitted use
• Mathispower4u Tutorials – high school remedial math focus
• YouTube.com/user/karlfisch – Karl Fisch’s algebra videos

A New Kind of Conference and Models of Effective PD – Discussion Session

This was a small group of folks who primarily provide professional development. The discussion centered around ways to evolve conferences and professional development. How do we preserve what we like about face to face conferences in digital environments? The big idea that came out of the discussion for me (which I admit isn’t new) is to provide webinar follow-ups for face to face training or conferences. It would be a way to extend the experience and provide the on-going professional development that makes far more of an impact that one shot workshops or conference sessions.

Social Networking in Education – Discussion Session

This was a very lively discussion in room with a large number of social media devotees. There were a number of great thoughts that came out of the discussion which primarily focused on the limited use of social networking in education.

@baldy7: poor behavior on SN is a behavior problem... not a technology problem. #socmediste11

@RGriffithJR: Students can say something inappropriate in real life just as easily online- @InnovativeEdu

@jessievaz12: Build the community that supports the use of soc media. Don't focus on the tools. #socmediste11

@davidwees: Here's the presentation I gave to parents on social media. http://bit.ly/jsATMb #iste11 #socmediste11

@jessievaz12 Stdts need good soc media role models to learn how to use those tools appropriately. @davidwees #socmediste11 #ISTE11

@RGriffithJR: Great advice from @InnovativeEdu teach a stu to b a responsible citizen, not just a digital citizen. #sbisd #socmediste11

@jessievaz12: There is value in our learning how to articulate value of social media in ed @Stevehargadon #socmediste11 #ISTE11

Leslie Fisher (http://lesliefisher.com/) – Gadgets for Everyone

This was a fast paced smorgasbord of web sites and gadgets. I couldn’t tweet because we were moving so fast and I wanted to really take notes. I knew about VERY few of these. It was my favorite conference session. You can get Leslie’s presentation here: http://bit.ly/k4vFES (click on the pdf under “Gadgets!”).

I’m having trouble deciding what to list because I was so blown away! Here are the ones I’m going to check out first:

• Rockmelt (www.rockmelt.com) – it’s a browser that pulls in social networking and RSS feeds along the side – seems like a good one stop viewing
• Wunderlist (www.wunderlist.com) – it’s a to do list that is stored in the cloud and syncs to all devices
• Type With Me (http://typewith.me/) or Primary Pad (http://primarypad.com/) – they are tools for real time collaborative document creation
• Evernote (http://evernote.com/) – Like digital bookmark, but for all your other digital stuff. After hearing about it twice (also from Tammy Worcester) I figure I need to try it out!
• Livescribe (www.livescribe.com) – it is a smart pen! It records while you are taking notes on special paper. Then you can post your “pencast”. It has so much potential for the classroom and for personal use!

I think the most amazing thing about the ISTE Conference is that there was something for everyone. In reviewing a number of ISTE reflection posts (found by searching #ISTE11), there was a wide variety of takeaways. Some are lists of tools, applications, and web sites, others are focused on big ideas, and then there are those that focus on the equipment/roll-out/support. And if you weren’t fortunately enough to go yourself, you can have the vicarious experience by reviewing the keynotes on YouTube and searching the hashtag. Love this digital age!

Heading to ISTE 2011

I have gotten increasingly anxious about heading to the ISTE 2011 conference in Philadelphia. I've seen discussion that the attendance is expected to be around 18,000. 18,000!!! I am an introvert, so the thought of trying to finding respite when sharing a hotel room is stressful! I'm also nervous about being out of my element. I love technology and am more comfortable with it than many of my colleagues, but I
am far from a techie. I wonder how far over my head the sessions will be. From the overwhelming stack of mail I've gotten as a conference registrant, I'll be in the deep end! (The stack of postcards has to be 8 inches tall, all inviting me to visit their booths for demos and freebies. I have no idea what most of them are selling.) Then there's leaving my boys for 4 days. My 4 year old is now old enough to clearly express his distress and sadness over my leaving. My 15 year old will take this opportunity to get out of his summer assignments. My husband has his hands full for the next 4 days! (Of course, he's up to the challenge - even if he isn't excited about it.) Finally, I always get stressed about packing. I never have quite the right size suitcase, and I'm certain I will forget something essential - don't know I ever have, but I worry about it anyway.

So today is the day! My 4 year old slept later than usual. Rather than go ahead and hurry off, I stayed to cuddle with him. He banged on the window as I was getting my car. I looked up see him sign, "I love you" with a very sad look on his face. Next, I encountered an accident about 10 cars in front of me. Luckily, others had stopped to render aide and the scene didn't look like I needed to contribute. Then the parking lot shuttle bus drove right past me as I was unloading my stuff. As I walked to the end of the row, another drove right past to the next row. I finally caught it about half way down the aisle. When I finally got in the airport to check my bag, it was 40 minutes before the flight. Whew, I thought I would make it! Nope! Continental implemented a new rule recently. Bags must be checked 45 minutes before flight time - no exceptions. My bag was too big to carry on. As I write this, I'm on the standby list for the next flight - more than 2 hours after mine. Oh, and I'm paying for wifi access as my Clear hotspot can't get a signal anywhere in the terminal.

It appears I've been worrying about the wrong things!

Luckly, I wasn't in the accident on the freeway. I didn't fall down on the people glide, like the older woman who was traveling with her husband. And I didn't run down the terminal with my grandson to find they had just closed the airplane door. I'm also not traveling with a large group or a very small child. I'm not trying to get on a plane to see a sick relative, either.

I'm going to an enormous conference where I'm going to have the opportunity to learn as much as I possibly can about transforming instruction. It's been years since I've had this opportunity to grow. I can meet new people, or choose to be anonymous in the crowd. I can commune with adults who care as much as I do about the future of education and shifting our field to meet students' needs.

I have the opportunity to gain the skills to walk instead of just talk. I firmly believe gifted education has slipped and is missing an enormous opportunity. Gifted education has always been at the forefront, leading the innovation in education. We've introduced and perfected much of what is considered good education for all students today. We aren't there now! The new frontier is in technology integration. It's about shifting how we teach using the plethora of digital tools available to us. It's about taking all that gifted ed has perfected, viewing it through a new digital lens, and going global with it. The technology educators are leading this innovation. I want gifted ed to be there with them, partners in meeting students' needs. I can't wait to pair what they have to teach me with what I know about gifted children.

Later than expected, but with less trepidation -
ISTE 2011, here I come!

A Visit with a Thinker

“You can’t ask questions if you’re too concerned about what you already know.” This is the reason Dr. John Lienhard dislikes experts. He is interested in people who like chasing down answers to a question. All learning comes from asking questions; ignorance is your best friend. These are some of the thoughts Dr. Lienhard from the University of Houston, author of Engines of Ingenuity series, shared with 5th grade gifted students in the SPIRAL program at Bendwood. Students have been listening to and reading the Engines of Ingenuity series which is posted online and broadcast by KUHF in Houston. This visit was thanks to Julianna McKitrick, a parent who made arranging this visit her mission. The lucky students attending on Thursday had the chance to ask him a myriad of questions in person. (Students attending on other days will view a recording of the visit.)

Students inquired about his source of inspiration, his writing and recording processes, his hobbies, and upcoming episodes. Dr. Lienhard did a terrific job of relating to the students, never talking down to them or oversimplifying his answers.

Dr. Lienhard shared his rules for writing spoken prose with the students (in contrast to simply writing prose that will be read by a reader).

• Sentences should fit one breath, or at least each clause should. It’s important to listen to your words as your write them. If you can’t read what you’ve written out loud, you’ve written clumsy prose.
• Conversations tend be at a 6th grade readability level. This just naturally occurs. It doesn’t mean should you “dumb down” your content, but adjust the words you choose.
• Polysyllabic words tire listeners. After you’ve finished writing, go back and replace polysyllabic words that occur close together with several short words.
• Prepositional phrases sound like you are protecting yourself. Get to the point and eliminate “garbage phrases.” You can almost always eliminate “in order to” or “there is.”
• Use contractions. We use contractions when we have conversations. Spoken prose should sound like a conversation.
• It is acceptable to begin sentences with conjunctions such as “but” or “and.” Doing so allows you to eliminate a lot of words. It is important to learn to write without them, but for spoken prose go back and put them. Trade “but” for “on the other hand.
• Being colorful can derail your point. No flourishes. Rather, keep to the structure of the piece. Good writing is elimination, always making the structure stronger.
• You may use fragments in spoken prose. Use a hyphen to connect them to another sentence.

Students were curious about his inspiration for the episodes. Dr. Lienhard described wandering the stacks of the University of Houston library. He pays particular attention to books and magazines from 1922 or earlier. He likes to use photographs in his web postings and using graphics from 1922 or earlier avoids copyright issues. Suggestions are other people’s ideas so he rarely uses them. Rather, he looks for something that sparks an interest in him. He wants the listener to say, “Oh!” in response to an episode. Otherwise, what’s the point of the episode?

Don’t ask Dr. Lienhard about his favorites. Favorites tie you down. You get locked in and lose variety. Variety is important in asking and answering questions. He clearly differentiates between invention and innovation. Innovation is making new, tinkering with ideas that are already there. Innovation is safe. Invention is scary. Invention is about entirely new ideas, ideas that weren’t already there. Dr. Lienhard is excited by invention.

Dr. Lienhard shared that he was, and may still be, dyslexic. He described barely being able to read or write and finishing close the bottom of his high school class. An 8th grade teacher asked him to write an essay for a contest. He had to write about a Union general. Despite his difficulty with reading and writing, his essay placed third nationally! It was quite an important experience for him. He completed his master’s degree by working really hard. Then, while in the army, he spent a great deal of time practicing eye tracking to improve his reading.

After pictures were taken and a rousing round of applause, students were sent back to their desks to begin work on a project patterned after Engines of Ingenuity. Several students approached Dr. Lienhard for autographs and rush to form a line followed. How many 5th graders do you know who would run across a classroom to get the autograph of a university professor? This experience was the perfect fit this group of students.

To Blog or Not to Blog

I've been debating - actually more like ruminating - on whether I could/should/would maintain a blog. I really enjoy reading a number of the blogs on gifted education and see it as a powerful communication tool. I think the parents I serve in my school district would benefit from my maintaining a blog. I see it as a place that I can readily provide updated information that would support parents of gifted students.

Do I have something to offer that isn't already out there? I'm not sure. Are my writing skills as honed as the authors of the blogs I regularly read? No. Will I be able to carve out the time to truly maintain a blog? Probably not.

The time is my biggest obstacle. I think one stop shopping - or at least a reference starter - would be helpful to parents. I'm okay with not being the best writer. (Actually, that's a lie. But it is a good opportunity to work on my perfectionism.) The time, though? That's a hurdle.

I've decided to publicly try to get over the hurdle. I'm just going to try it and see. I don't get to "just try it" very often. Most of the decisions I make have too much of an impact on children or parents or my budget to "just try it." I don't see those risks here.

So here goes. I'm going to maintain this blog as a resource for parents of gifted children in Spring Branch ISD. I will share the most interesting nuggets that I pick up from my PLN (personal learning network). I will not commit to a time frame as I see that destined to disappoint. Keep your fingers crossed and let's get started!

11.5: Thing #11.5 - Evaluation

What a spectacular learning experience! I can't give enough positive kuddos for this professional learning opportunity. Thank you, Lifeguards!

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I think I'll use the screencasting and slideshare tools to improve my communication with parents. I am really excited about those possibilities. Seeing really good PowerPoint presentations was inspiring and instructional. I have a lot of work to do in this area, but it's invigorating. I'm doing lots of pondering and mulling about it.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I need to stay current in my specific field and in my instructional techniques. Though I'm not in a classroom in front of students, I advise teachers who are. I am often in a classroom in front of teachers, too. I know I need to model what I want them to do with their sudents. That means integrating technology into my teaching. That means being able to teach the teachers the necessary skills. This program has given me the support I need to do so.

I also really enjoy learning. Since I finished graduate school 2 years ago, I haven't been this excited about learning. It's been very refreshing :)

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

Sometimes a learner can't see the progress he or she has made. They don't remember what a struggle it was when they started. Or, in the case of gifted kids, they learned it so quickly it doesn't feel like they learned something new. I can see my progress. The blog is a great way to document your journey. This applies most to Twitter.

I like Twitter. In a very short time, I've come to find it quite useful professionally. Use it with kids? I don't know. Use it with teachers and others interested in gifted education (#gifted)? DEFINITELY! Tweets have notified me of actions that needed to be taken immediately (advocacy for Javits funding), of articles I haven't seen, of blog posts that are thought-provoking. It's an interesting place to post a question and get a variety of responses. I like that the responses have to be short and succint. I feel this way and I haven't found a third party app that I like to make Twitter easier! (Tweetdeck doesn't seem to work in the district. Twhirl requires a download.)

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

The one aspect that needs improvement is the interaction among the participants. I've made a point to comment on others' blogs, but not all of them. I've had very few comments from participants other than the Lifeguards.

I'm not sure how you'd encourage, monitor, prompt, require this other than what you're already doing. In the two blog formatted book studies I've done, this has been a problem. I require that participants comment on other participants' posts. Participants usually only do the minimum that I require for the first couple of postings, then it trails off. So this may be something that requires time and familiarity with the format.

11.5: Thing #11 - Digital Citizenship

Oh the irony! Our district has a new internet content filter. It blocked all of the free screencasting tools posted in 11.5 Things. It blocked the web site of a highly respected psychologist who specializes in serving gifted kids. The list could continue (I've put in half a dozen or more requests for unblocking sites). Yet, I go to the Digital Citizenship Ning and there's a blog post for Herbal ___ enhancement. (Guys, if you haven't had enough offers in your email spam filter, here's another one!) I'm sure it's spam that's now showing up in nings.

That's why we need to teach digital citizenship.

Of course, I'm of the opinion that we should talk to kids about most everything. At their level, of course, but fairly openly. Kids don't educate each other accurately. So if an adult doesn't do the talking and the guiding, then you're leaving it up to their friends. Since our executive functioning doesn't fully develop until we're in our 20's, we're taking a pretty big risk in expecting they'll get a good education from their peers.

In reading a number of the posts, I inwardly shouted, "Amen!" I think we spend entirely too much time and effort blocking sites and policing for plagarism. (At the risk of sounding hypocrital, I do appreciate the spam filter. I read it daily since communication from parents and experts from other countries are often blocked, but I like it being in a separate folder.) Instead, we should be capitalizing on teachable moments and creating plagarim-proof assignments.

Most of the articles listed in 11.5 Thing #11 talked about modeling the thinking processes used to evaluate web resources and web tools. I think that's right on. Modeling is so key to good teaching. It's the same good strategy whether you're thinking through a math problem or trying to find information on the web. What would be a good tool to use to solve this problem? Why use this one? Now that I'm using it, how do I get the most out of it?

Certainly we don't have to think aloud all the time, but we do need to do it. It is worth the extra time! We need to address choosing the right tool, evaluating what we find, using the tool appropriately, etiquette, and safety. These can be integrated into most content learning experiences, we just have to make a point to do it.

5 things to tell my students

• you gotta use the right tool for the job (It's pretty difficult to loosen a screw with a hammer.)
• you can't believe everything you see or read (The sky is bright red. I wrote it - so look outside, is it suddenly true? I can edit a picture to make a sky bright red. You see an image of it, is it true?)
• take pride in your work (It's usually faster to do a good job the first time than to do a lazy job and have to do it again.)
• manners matter online, too (Poor manners can be forever saved electronically. Who wants that legacy?)
• people aren't necessarily who they say they are online (Never get in a car with a stranger. Same rule applies here.)

11.5: Thing #10 - Virtual Worlds

I haven't felt this inept in a very long time. I had trouble customizing my avatar. I finally just accepted the default and entered. I ended up entering Second Life in New Berlin. Of course, it took a little while to figure out why everyone was speaking in German. Luckily, I've retained just enough of the 4 years of German I took to recognize when people were asking if they could help me. Very politely, in English, they told me to turn around and go to the tutorial. Problem was, I had a very hard time turning around!

The help desk person IM'd me, including explaining how to IM back, and gave me directions to get to the USA. Only, I couldn't quite figure out how to do that and didn't want to admit it. I did find the tutorial which was in English and German.

I play video games. I'm the best in my house at rhythm games and I'm pretty good at Ratchet and Clank. But I don't play first person shooter games or any other games from that perspective. I have trouble navigating them so I don't like them. Had the same feeling in Second Life.

In my second attempt, I tried from my home computer. Navigation is a bit easier, but I still look ridiculous and everything takes forever. I finally used the map to get to Campus 3D and quit.

I can't say that I'd recommend this to anyone. I need a teenager to walk me through it. My husband is convinced Second Life is on it's way out, but I'm sure some other virtual world will gain favor.

11.5 - Thing #9 Slideshare

In Olivia Mitchell’s post on 4 Multimedia Learning Principles…, she embedded this presentation on “Brain Rules for Presenters” by Garr Reynolds. It’s a wonderful presentation about avoiding “death by PowerPoint”.

Brain Rules for Presenters

View more documents from garr.

In Dave Yewman’s tips, my biggest take-away was presenter view. Wow! I didn’t know how to set up multiple monitor views and I’ve been PowerPoint a VERY long time. This is very exciting! (When using presenter view, the projector shows the PowerPoint while your computer shows your notes, the slides coming up, and more!)

I am so excited. This is the tool I need. I'm going to do my "Should I Refer" presentation and embed it so parents can access it. This is the right tool for that issue. After looking at Slideshare and authorStream, I'm unsure which will work best for me. I'm going to try Slideshare first since it seems to have gotten the most "press". The audio and animation are key for me. So if those don't work well in Slideshare, I may work in authorStream more. Stay tuned for the presentation...

Of course kids should be doing this. I view this much like videos. It provides an authentic audience!

11.5 Thing #8 - Screencasts

I found the link to Sue Waters blog on improving screencasts very helpful. There was link to a good video on how a teacher (Michael Meagher) uses Camtasia Studio to do his podcasts. After watching that and trying CamStudio, I'm ready for fork over the $300! I'm going to try a couple of other free ones before I go that far, though.



I found CamStudio limiting. Having to switch to Movie Maker to edit was a slow process so it's not very impressive. I tried the video annotating, but the quality was very poor. The voice and the screenshot don't quite match. I did it though. I'm excited about the possibility. I could use Camtasia to do the annual presentation on Should I Refer My Child for the GT Program (yucky title, but informative). Posting that on the net would be a huge plus!



This screencast is how to get to and edit the GTKidsBooks wiki.

Well... I can't seem to upload the video I did using Camstudio. It just won't upload. I had trouble getting the right file type from Movie Maker, too.

I was going to start over using one of the other screencasting tools but the district's new blocking system blocked all the free ones. I tried to download Jing, but don't have the administrative rights to do so. Agh!

Trust that I did one.

11.5: Thing #7 - Video Resources

Here's a brief video from the Discovery Channel. It's from the Understanding the Brain series and addresses Genius. I found it using Hulu.

The National Archives Video Collection looks cool, but I couldn't get anything besides what was posted on the site - there were no more.

I couldn't any PBS video to actually play. It would let me email a link or buy a DVD, but it wouldn't actually play an videos. I wondered if this was an SBISD blocking issue.

I'm excited to check out Totlol at home since they are all YouTube links.

I love that NeoK12 has a section on biographies. These are really great for use with gifted kids. There are videos on Bill Gates and Steve Jobs - contemporary gifted folks. Of course, I couldn't get them to play in the district - argh! Here's a link to the one on Bill Gates - I'll have to watch it at home.

I really like Google videos to search. I just find it easier to navigate than Blinkx and easier to get the url I need to convert videos to something I can view and use.

11.5: Thing #6 - iTouch Apps

Load apps...

I promise to load a couple of apps on my husband's iTouch. I'm going to load the Tangram puzzle game first. It's called Tanzen Lite.
UPDATE: Wow, once you have Apps app, loading new apps is really easy! Added iSign and Tanzen lite with a couple of touches! Tanzen lite is FUN! Certainly requires visual spacial skills. iSign was disappointing.


Ideas on using iTouch in the library...

I think the best uses for the iTouch in the library are for quick reference (internet searches) or educational games. There do seem to be apps for blogging, so that might be an option. I also think students could create podcasts with an attached microphone. I like the readers, too. For reluctant readers, it might be an incentive.

This is hard for me. I WANT to be in favor of the iTouch. I support the idea of technology integrated into the curriculum. I want kids using the tools of tomorrow today - and learning appropriate uses for them. I see the iTouch as an internet access tool and a gaming device. There were good educational games, lots of calculator and flash card type activities, too.

I think I'm more in favor of a netbook. I don't want to be, but that's where I am right now. It may be because of my experience and comfort level. I think a netbook has more flexible capabilities. I'm also a fan of the keyboard.

When I think about integrating technology into the classroom, I start with asking myself, "What do I use technology tools to do?" My computer is an essential part of what I do every day. I communicate with others, both professionally and personally; I gather information via the internet; I find experts via the internet; I do my banking online and track my district budgets in Excel and on MUNIS; I compile, analyze and report data; I create professional development using videos, audio clips, and PowerPoint. If virtually everything I do is done on the computer, then that's how the classroom should work. So if the trend is for this to be done on an iTouch or netbooks, that's where we should be in education.

By the way - I found a great ezine with an article on 100 apps for education. And an interesting initiative started by a teenager, Travis Allen, called iSchool. Here's a video in which Travis demostrates his favorite Apps for education. (Original video on YouTube.)

In the video below, Travis explains how using the iTouch can transform the educational system. He highlights currents Apps and proposes others that could easily be developed. He even includes a financial breakdown. Pretty impressive presentation by a 17 year-old! (YouTube original)

11.5: Thing #5 - Microblogging

I have really gotten into a post about a student Twittering in a college class and the professor's reaction. What I've most enjoyed are the comments in reaction to the post. What a GREAT discussion! (I got there from the ...can I Twitter that post linked on the Thing #5 page.) The discussion/debate is really rich. I can see exactly the same thing happening in high school.

It's the idea of taking notes in a collaborative environment, of sharing the learning process, of the process being visible that I like. Backchanneling or live blogging or Twittering during the workshop, the lecture, the class means the student is engaged in the learning process. Isn't that a good thing? How could a teacher not like that?

I, personally, do not believe kids will be more off-task with technology than they are without it. I also believe that teachers must take responsibility for off-task behavior. Really good, engaging instruction solves the problem in many many many cases.

Facebook
I got on FB because we were talking about it a lot in SBISD. I wanted to catch up. I also have a 13 year-old and needed to be an informed parent. It came in handy to prepare for my 20th HS reunion, as that's who the majority of my friends are. I'm still trying to work out how to use it professionally. I do have a colleague who tends to be more responsive to his FB inbox than his ISD in box!

Twitter
I'm a definitive newbie. I'm atxteacher. I don't understand how to follow a thread of discussion. Or how to search. I'm not confident with re-tweeting, either. Twitter seems to have a whole unique language that I don't know. I'm sure it's like many other things, I just need to invest some time and practice. It may be that my network isn't large enough. I'm only following 13 folks, but I have 25 followers. Many of the followers I don't know, but maybe they're trying me out. It makes me feel like I should say really important things.

I've read about Tweetdeck and some other applications related to Twitter. I'm wondering if one of these could help me get more out of Twitter. I also think I'd get more out of it if I had a PDA to check and create updates. I've resisted the urge to get an iPhone - I just can't swallow the extra $30/month for data services.

I didn't know I that can Twitter by text message - even with a plain mobile phone. Here's how. That's something I might try out! I've set up my account so only the Tweets of a couple of the folks I follow will be sent to my phone. I can always go in and turn them off - even from my phone. I may get much better at texting with my plain old Nokia!

Following @joelmcintosh is helpful. He's the publisher of Prufrock Press and tweets about all kinds of things from Prufrock discounts and new web resources, to day-to-day experiences.

From a post by @RussGoerend, I found a wiki devoted to documenting what people have learned from Tweets. It's new and worth a glance.

Backchanneling
I think there's real potential here. I introduced teachers to TodaysMeet in our June 11th professional development. It wasn't used a lot, but may grow with practice. I used two screens and two computers so the backchannel was visible to the whole group. I thought seeing it might help in the learning process. I'll definitely try it again. Here's a great blog post about using a backchannel with middle school students during a video presentation. Great idea!

11.5: Thing #4 Video Hosting

Since I'm working on my "things" while in the district, I elected to upload to Teacher Tube. I registered, created a profile, and uploaded the two Animoto videos I did for Great Book for Gifted Kids (younger readers, older readers). Now I'm waiting for Teacher Tube to approve and post them.

What would be some advantages of having teaching/learning videos available online at sites like these?
Using online videos makes them available to students 24/7. You can show them as a hook or part of the content of a lesson. If students want to review them again later, they can easily do so. Media adds a richness to lessons - it brings something outside the school in.

What about student created work -- would there be advantages to having it uploaded?
In gifted education we'ver been talking about authentic audiences for years (here's a great blog post on Authentic Audiences). GT students should be doing products/performances for real audiences, which are typically outside the school. That's been a bit challenging. The web makes more doable. Now students have a world-wide audience. They can get input from experts and peers. I've heard Alan November speak on a number of occasions (when I hear him I want to be back in the classroom trying out what he describes). Each time I hear him saying that kids put a lot more thought and energy into creating a good product when it's posted to the web - when it's broadcast to a larger, more meaningful audience than the class or teacher.

11.5: Thing #3 - Skype

Have I started every post with, "I love ___" ? Even if I have, I love Skype!

I first learned about it from a family friend. For Christmas after my toddler was born, she gave my sister, my mom, and I web cams and a suggestion that we try Skype. I have an account that I use at home for friends and family. My toddler loves to call his Aunt Colee. They talk regularly. He hasn't enjoyed calling Mia and Papa Scott as much because they have a slow internet connection and the picture isn't very clear.

I then read about Skype in educational settings. I think it was a posting at Gifted Education 2.0 by Ginger Lewman. I saw a video of primary age kids using Skype and Google Docs to write collaboratively with kids from classrooms across the globe. So cool! The kids had meetings to discuss their ideas via Skype.

I loaded it onto my desktop, but have only called Ginger to make a connection when I first discovered Gifted Education 2.0. I've so wanted to try it, but don't have a good reason to do so. I'm going to think about ways to work it into my GT staff development so teachers will see the possibilities.

How could you do this in a classroom? Any project could be done collaboratively. Finding a classroom with which to partner seems to be the biggest hurdle. Maybe we should start within the district. I see the biggest potential in research - either collaborating on a joint project or for gathering data. Librarians fit into this research piece. I also love the idea of connecting with an author via Skype, but that might be tougher.

Once our budgets open up and I can get a new computer, I'll be open to Skyping with anyone who wants to try it!

Here's a great video by Cool Cat Teacher on getting started using Skype in the classroom:

11.5: Thing #2 - Image Generators

Wordle or Wordsift

I love Wordle. I just showed it to teachers in GT training on June 11th. There are so many terrific applications! For example, I created a Wordle from the text of the first chapter of No More Dead Dogs. I explained how the size of words in a word cloud are based on the frequency of words appearing in the text. Then I asked them to predict what the book was about. It was a great intro to the book. See:

Next, I put two Wordles side by side. The text comes from Dr. Bertie Kingore's article, "High Achiever, Gifted Learner, Creative Thinker." I took the list of characteristics of high achievers and created a Wordle, then did the same for gifted. I put the Wordles side by side and asked them to identify which was which and why. Great thinking!

Since I already know and love Wordle, I decided to try out Wordsift. Here's the Wordsift for gifted learners from Dr. Kingore's article.

As a visual person, I like Wordle much better. However, the links are interesting. I see it being helpful for vocabulary purposes, in particular.

Glogster or VoiceThread

I couldn't get the Glogster/edu tutorial to play. I may need to be out of the district to get it. Maybe seeing the tutorial would make me a fan. I've spent 45 minutes working on a Glog and got a title and 2 pictures loaded into it. Too much time! I think the idea is awesome. Some of the student examples were great, too. I like it better than Trading Cards.

When you do a physical poster, you have to think through the content, then plan the layout, maybe look for images to paste on or determine images to draw. You have to do all of those things for a Glog, but there are more steps involved: choosing the right background and graphics, determine the right keywords for a product image search, finding appropriate websites to link - or tacking them during your research. I can see parents getting irritated at the time it takes to do a Glog versus a regular poster. I'd make this a choice rather than a required product.

VoiceThread is neat! I looked around and found this great retelling of the Three Little Pigs. I love the commenting. Getting kids an authentic audience is difficult. This makes it easy in a somewhat protected environment. It's a great venue for research reports or original stories. It's also a great place to post questions kids have about something to collect opinions. I tried creating one, but got stuck. My current computer doesn't have a microphone, and then I had trouble adding text comments. I will definitely play with this one more, though!

Animoto or Voki

I'm already a fan of Animoto. I've posted several in the past. (See Great Books for Young Readers, Great Books for Older Readers, and my fabulous toddler.)

Voki is fun! I think folks would get a kick out of it at first. You'd have to change up the message or make sure the Voki spoke the message in an email for it to maintain it's interest.

Bookr

Well here it is... hours later!

The examples in the archive were great. Good for a poem or short summary of information. Took forever, hard to find good pics - not one of my favorite activities.

11.5: Thing #1 - Registration

Great video in the CommonCraft style on the 21st century student and learning, The Networked Student.

The most significant section of the video for me was the discussion of the teacher's role. I loved all the descriptions of the teacher - "learning architect," "learning concierge," and "network sherpa." It's what the teacher's role was alwasy supposed to be. Guiding, facilitating, providing feedback and nudges. When the teacher fills this role, it gives the responsibility of learning over to the student.

When the teacher controls all the learning, all the activity, makes all the decisions, there is nothing of importance left for the student to control - for which to be responsible. We want kids to be responsible for their own learning. To do that we have to give them some control and decision making power. I think all of the discussion about building 21st century learners just highlights this!

I recently heard someone say that they think kids are getting bored with technology. That we adults think it's fun and motivating, but that the kids are over it. She gave an example of kids who were excited to be able to choose a non-technological product. I wondered if the excitement really stemmed from being given choices. I think maybe kids are over PowerPoint presentations or using technology exclusively for product development. But product development is integration of technology to my thinking.

Yippee for 11.5 Things

Spring Branch ISD's Library Information Services Department is truly acting on a vision of the future. I so admire the leadership of this department. They are "walking the walking" and inviting folks to join them on the journey of bringing education into the 21st century.

By creating an open blog site they are inviting everyone to join the professional development community. Don't know the first thing about web 2.0? That's okay. Work the 23 Things and you will! Not only will know you about it, you'll be able to apply that knowledge in your library, classroom, or any setting.

Before 23 Things, I knew what a blog was and used Google regularly to search. After 23 Things, I have 4 blogs on my dashboard, have a Google reader, have a ning, and used a wiki in a professional development! Am I an expert? No way! But I've started.

Now the journey continues with 11.5 More Things.

Working the things makes me want to return to the classroom and try it all out! I'd love to see the excitement on the kids' faces as we learn to manage these tools together. Now my forum is with teachers. The excitement isn't quite as evident, but the progress is there.

Stay tuned as I learn about 11.5 more things!

Thing #23 - Summary

Yippee! I finally completed this segment. I'm excited about 11.5 Things to come!

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I have used Animoto more than any other application. Second to that would be Zamzar. These two tools are simple to use and have positively impacted my professional and personal work. I also really like Wordle. I'm thinking about how to use it in the professional development that's coming up next week and in August.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I grew up as computers grew up. My dad was big into computers so I had access that a lot of folks didn't. I was a big word processor and played games on the computer. The Apple IIe was the standard in my school experience. I took a computer to college with me with a dot matrix printer. I'm not a digital native, though.

L2P has prodded me to get more current with technology. In the work I do with teachers, I know I need to model good teaching. That means integrating technology at a significant, application level. I'm not there yet, but this has given me the tools to make progress.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
Podcasting/vidcasting was surprisingly easy. I feel more confident about doing it. I was surprised to have progressed on my 23Things journey even when I wasn't working it. I stalled at Thing #15 and didn't work on them for months. But when I came back to it, I had already discovered several of the later "Things". So L2P started me on the journey, but I didn't have to be working the "Things" to continue benefitting - to stay on the journey.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
This was a wonderful introduction to online learning and Web2.0. Some of the "Things" took much longer than others. Part of it is how long you play and your level of comfort. It might be helpful to have a range of time that one could expect to spend on each "Thing". It would just help with time management.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
YES

6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?
23 Things was a professionally life-altering experience that gave me the tools I need to make learning and instruction meaningful to today's audience.

Thing #22 - Ning

One of the advantages of procrastinating on the completion of 23Things is that I've already interacted with several of the later "Things." I feel very proud to have not only found a Ning specific to gifted education prior to starting this "Thing" but to have created one, too! I'm so 21st Century!

Gifted Education 2.0 is a ning created specifically to connect those who care about gifted education. It's a network of teachers, administrators, parents, and advocates. There are rich discussions about resources, content, and issues. There is a great tech side to the ning, also. Many of the most active participants are very techno-saavy.

If you want to Skype with another classroom of GT kids, this is the place to find a partner! If you want to share lesson plans or get new ideas for the classroom, this is the place. It's terrific!

I created a pilot ning for for the Research Division of TAGT. It is not open to the public at this time. TAGT is working to develop a social networking component of their web site and I want to honor their work. I greatly value TAGT and the work they do to support gifted students and their parents & teachers.

The ning has multiple components. You can post videos, do a blog, have a discussion. I think that it has so many components. It's also visually very appealing and easy to use. A classroom ning is richer than a blog. It's great to connect people with a common topical interest.