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.

Thing #21 - Podcasts and Videocasts

BTW - I love the CommonCraft videos. They are worth a million!

I knew when I saw the title to this "Thing" that I'd have to do a podcast! I was excited but worried about the time it would take. I've been thinking about developing some online GT courses and I know that vidcasting will be a big part of it.

It was easy! This isn't my best work, but probably only took 15 minutes since I already had the pics together for the Animoto I did.

Wow! This is a great tool! Book reports, research reports, daily class updates. There are so many possibilities!

Thing #20 - YouTube, TeacherTube and Zamzar

I love Zamzar. It has helped me get around YouTube when I'm developing a professional development session. I'd love to be able to preview the video before I send it for conversion, but it's worked well. I use the free service and get a pretty fast turn-around.

I'm working on adding some more media elements for a class I'm teaching on June 11th - Great Books for Gifted Kids. I've got 100 registered and a waiting list of 20, so the class needs to be really good. We'll be talking about books that are of interest and social/emotional benefit to gifted kids. One such book is The Mysterious Benedict Society. I found two videos by students on the book. The first is a teaser for the book. The second is a book report.


The Mysterious Benedict Society_Jackie, posted on TeacherTube by miskanicsphotoshop




This is a book report on YouTube. I used Zamzar to convert it. It's difficult to give appropriate credit for YouTube videos because you can't get to the site to get all the particulars.

Through Blinkx I found a spot on the Today Show on the book. It includes input from kids and the author, Trenton Lee Stewart!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Video adds a whole new dimension to teaching. I primarily teach teachers. I've always been a very visual person and that means I'm also a very visual presenter. I love PowerPoint because I can provide visual prompts for my audience. (I'm registered for a FlipChart class this week.) I've always used a lot of graphics in my presentations. The ability to add other media elements is incredible! I can give my students a much more complex experience that addresses a more of their brains when I use rich media.

I rarely use YouTube outside of my professional life. However, I highly value the access it gives me to every day folks around the world.

Thing #19 - Web 2.0 Awards List

Lulu - Wow! I could publish my dissertation this way! I wonder if publishing houses watch what's produced here. I searched "gifted" and found a book published by a 7th grade GT class: As Poe Would Tell It. It's students retelling of stories in Edgar Allen Poe style. I also found GATE Poems 2007, a collection of poems by an elementary GT class. This gives students a truly authentic audience. Part of the project could be using other Web 2.0 tools to market the book. It would also be interesting to get a couple of different books and have students compare them to traditionally published works. It's be a good analysis activity to get to the roots of quality writing.

Craigslist - Big fan! My back yard has 3 pieces of toddler play equipment that we purchased through Craigslist. All three were purchased for the price of 1 new. Two needed some cleaning, but the third was practically new. I'm addicted! I would have loved this kind of access when I was a teacher. I spent tons on manipulatives and thematic stuff for my elementary classroom. I could have saved big time using Craigslist. Also, my husband found an incredible math tutor in our area via Craigslist. My hubby did well in online college Algebra thanks to that tutor!

Wufoo - Interesting. I think a teacher could use this to collect data with his/her classroom, if the class has a blog or web site. Maybe they want to survey who is viewing the blog. Maybe they want ideas on a service project. A free account would probably be enough for the elementary level. Secondary teachers might need a bigger account. Being highly visual, I love the presentation of the web site and the forms it creates. I also love the ease and user-friendly tools. They sure have some big name clients!