Planning and Implementation - Teachers, Students, and Curriculum

“Efficient people do things right, effective people do the right thing.” Dr. Juan Baughn

During a visit to Penn State Great Valley last summer, Dr. Baughn talked about his experiences in making difficult decision that were right for the students but not efficient for the school. Efficient makes life easy for the institution and the instructor, but it does not always translate into the right thing for the student. When considering the topic of planning and implementation of instruction with technology, I believe that the instruction and technology we implement must achieve what is right for the student.

When it comes to choosing a web 2.0 technology (that is not blocked by a school) as a tool for instruction, many of the decisions related to the technology are left to the individual teacher. For instance, the choice of what tool should be implemented, what students should be expected to do with the technology, how they should interact with the technology, and how their experience with the technology should be evaluated, are primarily left up to the instructor. Unlike curriculum, web 2.0 tools are at the discretion of the teacher and the configuration of the network. This creates a great responsibility for the instructor. If an instructor chooses a web 2.0 tool that does not align with a curriculum, the possibility exists for reducing the validity and effectiveness of the curriculum. This current state of free choice leads me to wonder if the implementation of web 2.0 instructional tools should be under the supervision of the committee (or persons) responsible for curriculum? As web 2.0 tools become more robust and capable, instructors must consider the effect of “cognitive outsourcing” on curriculum, instructional methodology and the student.

Overall, planning and implementation must be effective for the student. Efficiency, although it is desirable, should not be the guiding factor in planning and implementing technology. The risk of efficiency as a goal is the use of technology for the sake of technology. Student instruction must be developed and implemented for their growth and development. Of course, one also needs to find a balance that reflects reality.

Safe practices with Web 2.0 : Personal safety and homework

There are so many issues to consider with the internet and student safety. Lately, I have been reflecting on the differences between the internet at school and the internet at home. I believe there is a significant difference between the two environments that relate directly to the personal safety of students. Based on compliance by most schools with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), internet access at school is generally safer than internet access at home. CIPA requires internet filtering or blocking on EVERY connected computer and a comprehensive internet safety policy. (Solomon & Schrum) Schools also log all websites and monitor behavior. These measure are greater than what can be found in the typical home internet environment. With that in mind, teachers need to consider the internet environment students will access when completing an assignment that require learners to go online. Teachers must be aware that there is a difference between the two and ensure a safer process for the students.

Here are a few considerations that come to mind:

• Do your homework - It may sound like hyper-supervision, but go through the assignment yourself. Even commonplace exercises like a Google search can go awry. Think of keywords that are relevant to your topic and search the way your students would - check the resulting pages and images and ensure that the websites are what you intended. If not, consider providing your own keywords or creating a customized search engine for your students.
  

• Be a presence - One of the best practices in online and blended learning is for the instructor to be an active participant. For example, when your students are posting/writing to blog or forums, take the time to respond immediately to their posts. This lets your students know that you are partners in their experience and are an active member of the learning environment. Take that step from supervising to facilitating.

• Create a private space - Do not assign any tool that you are unfamiliar using or unfamiliar with the connected community. Learn the tool and learn how to create a private and safe space. If a private space is necessary but not possible, move on to a new tool. After all, the web 2.0 facilitates the experience, it doesn't define it – find another site or tool that helps you achieve your goal.

There is obviously a lot more when it comes to keeping students safe on the internet, but it is important to realize that not all internet environments are equal. When teachers assign internet-based assignments for homework, they must take into consideration the differences between the school and home internet environments.


Reference:

Schrum, L., & Solomon, G. (2007). Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools. NY: Intl Society For Technology In.

Research and the reflective practitioner: The F2F Experience

Last week I attended a face to face (F2F) workshop called Teachers Teaching Teachers (TTT). It was organized by the Multicultural Resource Center . Ironically, I specifically attended this F2F workshop as part of my research for my Web 2.0 Social Networking class! I looked forward to this workshop because, Gene Batiste - the vice president of Leadership Education and Diversity at the NAIS , was offering a session on the benefits and challenges of implementing an affinity group for an independent school community. The social networking project that I am researching for social networking class is along the lines of affinity group support via a Web 2.0 infrastructure.

So why attend a F2F when there are so many online options? In class we have researched tools and their implementation through sound methodology, but I believe that the practitioner needs to bring their social network to life with some F2F time. We use Diigo, blogs, virtual conferences, etc... to research and reflect but I believe that there needs to be a balance. Personally, I found great value in taking the time to disconnect and meet people, not avatars or user names. And even though I sat through the TTT workshops thinking that this would be more efficient online, I found value in seeing people, shaking hands, and having "real" F2F conversations. Although it may feel as though the primary source of research nowadays is the web, the reality is that behind these sources of research are people. In my case, I tend to forget that the tool or information I am accessing may have another person involved. There is someone, some group, and/or some network of people we are accessing through the web.

No matter how inefficient and limiting a F2F session may be, there is value in a blended approach to social networking. The session I attended with Gene Batiste was fantastic! He had a great welcoming manner, spoke with encouraging confidence, and motivated his participants to believe that affinity group work is possible in even the most conservative environments. The presence he radiated cannot be mined through the Internet. Imagine Obama's election victory speech at Grant Park in Chicago live versus on a screen. The content is the same but the feeling one gets from witnessing and sharing F2F is incomparable.

Overall, as I use the web to research and reflect, it is important to remember the emotional/motivational benefits of being involved in a network that can come to life (F2F) at some point.

Creating my social network - Response Blog #1

Defining my social network seems equivalent to defining part of my personal learning environment. I am networking resources and people I want to receive information from and provide information to. In this process, before considering a tool or network, I ask myself the following questions:

• Who do I want to connect with?
• How will I do it?
• Will I be able to contribute?
• Do I have the time?

Staying connected with a network has not been very easy. The tool must be transparent and not require too many steps to access. Some tools that have worked for me are Diigo, Facebook, Twitter, and CNN.com. CNN may have just raised an eyebrow but let me explain Diigo and Facebook first.

The Diigo user groups are a good way to find an instant network. For a while now, Dr. Fritz has recommended that we connect with Vicki Davis' CoolCatTeacher blog. As much as I respect her suggestions, I could never find the energy or enthusiasm to add another source to my reading. When I joined the Diigo network I decided to join the 'Educators' group - guess who started the group? Yep, Vicki Davis. As a member of that group, I get a weekly digest of links to the most relevant readings, blogs, tools, sites, etc… for educators. With the digest, I get the essence of her blog. I also follow Vicki Davis on twitter. Everything she posts into the 'Educators' group in Diigo she sends as a tweet as well. So, although I do not follow the blog closely, I am connected to her network in other ways; learning from the tools and readings she is recommending.

Now for the CNN.com clarification; CNN.com is a good example of a site that socially networks around topics in the news. After reading a news article, CNN.com gives the reader an opportunity to discuss the topic in an open forum with other readers. Also, the site connects you with blogs that are linking to the story you are reading and also to blogs that share similar tags. The benefit of incorporating a social network to the daily news has been great. There is reading the news, and then there is socially networking the news. Socially networking the news creates greater and more frequent opportunities to discuss issues with higher order thinking skills. For example, you read about the economy, then proceed to a discussion where you compare, contrast, explain, relate, debate, etc… Get the point? It is more than just the morning coffee and a paper!

Finally, I try to make my social network a little more than just educational - I need some fun! I have had a great and rewarding time reconnecting with friends through Facebook. FB has provided me with an opportunity to grow a network of friends and colleagues that I can call on to share, reflect and collaborate with when the opportunity arises. We talk, share pictures, and form part of a network.

New course, new challenge

I am excited for the assignment/challenge of creating a social network. One of the ideas that I have been thinking about for this assignment is diversity/affinity group support. I am going to try to create a social environment that facilitates discussions based on the topic of multi-cultural inclusion for high school students. In previous projects, I have dealt with topics directly related to my academic instruction - this time I want to focus on students' social well-being.

Class Reflection

This week in my Constructivist Learning Environment class, we were fortunate to experience a sample lesson that emphasized the importance of engaging learners immediately in a lesson and the effects of a strong learner response. In the sample lesson, the presenter displayed a collage of images that stimulated strong, engaged, and extremely varied responses from the groups. As an instructor, I believe the response was fantastic but there was a challenge - some of the responses from the groups were "off" the intended target/objective the presenter had anticipated. As a result, the unanticipated responses became an issue during the debrief session of the activity when the presenter was not able to reach his intended goal of the lesson. Fortunately, this lesson was just a practice constructivist lesson and therefore the issue was only a learning experience. It demonstrated the amount of preparation and facilitator skills required to bring varied ideas together and focus them back to the agenda for the day.

Personally, the best part of the day came after the presentation, during the critique. I felt that the interactions during the critique of the process was an amazing learning experience. The class engagement and the groups ability to clearly contrast between this lesson and previous ones, made it very easy to identify and analyze the differences in supporting and scaffolding the learner's experience. It emphasized in practical terms the theoretical information we have been investigating regarding constructivist instructors and the preparation, skill, and facilitation necessary to guide the learning experience in an appropriate direction.

Parent's Day - As a teacher

So now I am convinced that the audience plays an important role in directing your activities and approach on Parents Day. This week, I was the instructor giving a Parent's Day presentation. My principal instructed us to teach a lesson, as we normally would with our students, as a manner of giving parents insight to the class. This element immediately created a difference between my experience last week as a parent and the experience my parents would have in my class. Parents experienced the course versus sitting their for an "information dump". This method may not have worked at the evening Parent' Day I attend last week. The difference between this Parent's Day and the one I attended a week ago, is that one is a day school and the other a boarding school. Therefore, my parents are seeing their children for the first time in many weeks and they are also visiting for a longer period of time - Friday to Sunday. Due to the longer visit, parents follow their child through a typical day. Their attention is focused on the emotional and social well being that the boarding experience is creating in their child. Experiencing the environment for themselves may be the best way to facilitate that understanding.

Back to school night as a parent

This week (9/25) was 'Parent's Night' at my son's high school. The process for the night was to attend all his classes for eight minutes... for the INSYS 527 people who may be reading this - I'm not 'blowing smoke' when I say that I really wish that the instructors had done more that just present the information. The "information dump "by teachers was boring and not even remotely engaging. As I sat through the teacher presentations, I was obviously still thinking about the Constructivist class I am taking at PSU . What would have happened if the instructor had "sprinkled" in a constructivist flavored activity? It may have been more interesting... but I'm pretty sure some parents may have complained. It was an evening presentation - after a long work day, and now a longer evening... some people may just want the information given to them. On a parents day presentation, instructors must be aware of their audience - come to think of it, my son's school may have done the right thing in facilitating a quick evening at school.

Teaching colors?

Today I “sprinkled” a non-traditional activity into the classroom. According to the curriculum I need to follow for the first twenty days of school, today was the day I was required to teach colors. For high school students this is a topic that is as interesting as grocery shopping with your parents. For myself, as a language teacher focused on communicative skills, I was dreading this day - how often do we talk colors? I figured this would probably be a good opportunity to step out of my approach and try something non-traditional and influenced from my constructivist class. I decided to not think about teaching and instead play an easy game that involved colors. Speaking absolutely no English (a department policy), I came to class with a bunch of colored 2 x 2 cards and started to play a card snatching game. The rules of the game are fairly simple: two players stand with a desk between them and their hands to their sides. With five colored squares laid out in front of them, as soon as they here me call out a color, the first person to snatch up that colored card from the table wins a point.


The game was simple, tons of fun for us competitive folks and yielded surprising results. I did not speak any English to the students and they managed to play the game, recognize the colors, and enjoy the game in about five minutes. We played almost the entire period and then I debriefed the activity at the end with a quick assessment. All students learned their colors and enjoyed themselves with what I thought would be an otherwise boring topic. The greatest surprise for me was my reaction at the end of the activity. The break from the teacher-centered environment energized my spirits and allowed me to enjoy observing the class rather than conducting it.

INSYS 527 – If I “copy and paste” my Word document into my blog will I learn more?

So here I am, once again, writing another blog entry. My main question for this entry is as follows: Is the blog a tool for learning or are the learning experiences a result of an experience unrelated to the blog?

Today, I am leaning towards seeing the blog as a super cool, efficient, web 2.0 tool with nothing new to add to current learning experiences. Reflecting on the actual value of the blog tool, is there any cognitive experience that is improved with a blog that did not already exist with the word processor? The blog writing tools are actually pretty weak compared to any word processor. With that in mind, why are we using blogs? I have personally assigned blogs for the ease of accessing all of my students’ reflections from anywhere with an Internet connection. I have not assigned blogs because I think the tool will help them learn better. In my current class, I appreciate my instructor's approach: she has assigned a weekly reflection either through a blog entry or a submitted Word document. This approach indicates to me an emphasis on the reflection – not the technology. Perhaps it is not the blog that is facilitating learning, rather the reflection and synthesis. With this thought in mind, it reminds me of David Jonassen's mindtools. Jonassen has an interesting point when he states that we need to recognize that “computers are lousy teachers.”

Lesson Plan Commentary

This the lesson I have created at http://secondrepublic.weebly.com

Objective: Learners will identify the values and beliefs of an influential political force from Spain’s Second Republic.

Learners: Upper high school students (Grades 11 – 12)
Subject Areas: Spanish, History, Studio Art

The embedded image is a bit difficult to see, so here the link just in case you would like to see a larger show.

I appreciate any constructive criticism.

In the News Assignment

Copyright, Fair Use, Creative Commons and the public domain are issues that are important as we move toward becoming producer and consumers of content on the web. In reading different articles, blogs, and websites, it is evident that digital citizenship must become a priority as we become greater integrators of technology in the classroom. My thoughts about digital citizenship and our responsibility as educators went into "overdrive" after seeing an example of a well-intentioned teacher's site clearly violating copyright. This particular site stood out for me because it was showcased as an example of an educational wiki at this wiki site. The teacher's intention of motivating her learners with a video of Mexico is fine. The show itself, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, is also a great show for anyone interested in cultural immersions. The problem is that the video she used from YouTube is not a legal recording. The video was created with material that was originally copyrighted for The Travel Channel, L.L.C..

There are a wealth of resources on the internet that have the potential to enhance our instructional strategies. I believe that as instructors and students are encouraged to move toward a greater production on the internet, there is a greater chance of producing content that violates copyright. Mia Garlick (2005), general counsel at Creative Commons, also agrees: "with the widespread adoption of digital technologies and the commercial phase of the Internet in the late 1990s came the empowerment of individuals to copy and redistribute content' (p.78)

This issue is important in education because teachers have an ethical responsibility to model acceptable behavior. Leaders, I believe, have a greater responsibility of ensuring they are resources to their faculty's professional growth. Overall, we should work toward producing work that is congruent with the ethical standards of our profession. We need to evaluate our lessons and content using guidelines that enforce Fair Use and responsible digital citizenship. Understanding, modeling, and teaching this concept is important for our digital natives.

So what do teachers need to know?

Copyright protection is automatic once the work has been created and it lasts a long time – the life of the creator plus seventy years! In addition, since March 1989, the law no longer requires that a copyright symbol, date, and copyright holder's name be placed on the work in order to claim copyright protection. (Russell)

Not all creative work is copyrighted. There is content available in what is called the public domain. Public domain material is not protected by copyright and is available for use.

There is also material that is licensed under Creative Commons. Creative Commons was founded in 2001 and is led by a Board of Directors that includes experts on internet and intellectual property law. Creative Commons provides licenses that allow users to control the permissions they would like and creates an easy way to share content with other users without having to ask for permission directly.

Creative Commons is working towards balancing two extremes, total control and none at all. "Creative Commons defines the spectrum of possibilities between full copyright — all rights reserved — and the public domain — no rights reserved. Our licenses help you keep your copyright while inviting certain uses of your work — a "some rights reserved" copyright. "(creativecommons.org)

How does this affect me as an Internet Miner?

Having an understanding of the legal issues for the use of content from the Internet contributes to becoming an effective "Internet Miner". Educators are not exempt from practicing Fair Use policies on copyrighted material - limitations do exist. http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

An additional consideration educators need to focus on while mining is to search for content licensed under Creative Commons or in the public domain. Mining can begin at sites similar to creativecommons.org and we can also use keywords such as "creative commons" in our searches.

How does this affect me as an Internet Integrator?

Having a better understanding of my legal and ethical responsibilities toward content on the internet will better align my teaching with ethical standards. It may not have a direct effect on the content learned, but it will hopefully model the type of digital citizenship I expect from our students.

How does this affect me as an Internet Policy Advisor?

As part of modeling, I will ensure that the course syllabus and assignments addresses the issue of copyright, fair use, and the options available through the creative commons licenses. For those students (or teachers) that need additional guidance, I could provide support with some examples that clearly delineate the appropriate and inappropriate uses of content.

How does this affect me as an Internet Producer?

This concept applies to more than just than just a lesson. It is about using content legally and knowing about the alternatives. As a result, using Creative Commons licensed material can be associated with different projects. Student success for producing within the legal realm will require have a good collection of databases, a clear understanding of the law, and clear policy of what is acceptable and not acceptable.

References

Didden, C. (n.d.). Podcasting Music - The legal implications - CBI. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://www.collegebroadcasters.org/podcast.shtml.

Eunjung Cha, A. (2005, March 15). Creative Commons Is Rewriting Rules of Copyright. Washington Post. Retrieved June 5, 2008, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A35297-2005Mar14?language=printer.

Friedman, P. (n.d.). What is Fair Use?. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://whatisfairuse.blogspot.com/.

Garlick, M. (2005). A Review of Creative Commons and Science Commons. Educause, 40(5), 78-79. Retrieved June 5, 2008, from the Eric database.

Gross, G. (2007, December 1). Lawsuit Against Creative Commons Dropped. PC World. Retrieved June 5, 2008, from https://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/140189/lawsuit_against_creative_commons_dropped.html.

Main Page - CC Wiki. (2008, May 19). Retrieved June 11, 2008, from http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Main_Page.

NEA: Code of Ethics of the Education Profession. (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://www.nea.org/aboutnea/code.html.

Russell, C. (2003). Understanding the Public Domain. Knowledge Quest, 31(4), 19 - 21. Retrieved June 5, 2008, from the Eric database.

U.S. Copyright Office - Fair Use. (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html.

On the road from 'bad' citizenship

Lately, I have been reflecting on ethical issues under the topic of digital citizenship. Specifically, the copying and pasting of images off the Internet. After the "Get Creative" video from creativecommons.org that Dr. Fritz presented to us, working on an Acceptable Use Policy with several classmates, and having our instructor challenge us to consider our roles as policy advisers, I realize that I need to change the way in which I produce and also the expectations I have for my students as producers. In other words, as I create documents for lessons, I must reconsider my current practice of using any image I can 'right-click' on and 'copy'.

In preparing to discuss this topic further, I came across Wes Fryer's blog entry about Digital Citizenship. In this blog entry he has a list of student-generated questions concerning digital citizenship. The one that stood out the most for me was #27: "When do you know when you are being a bad citizen?" My immediate reaction was, How can you not know?!?! My understanding or right and wrong doesn't change on the Internet, but for some reason, I do things I would not outside of the web; like copy unauthorized images. What is it about the Internet that prevents many from extending their real world values into their interactions on the Internet? There are many variables that effect our practices on the Web, but overall I believe that most adults understand their actions and make choices that they are comfortable 'living' with. Is there anyone reading this right now that has never copied an image from the Internet without the expressed permission of the author? If so, I really (seriously) would like to know how you acquired or were taught those values. As an educator moving towards a greater integration of technology into my instruction, I find that I am producing more with a greater reliance on resources from the web. As a result of greater technology integration, I will also be placing my learners into the role of producer. In doing so, I believe I have an ethical responsibility not to only protect them from dangers, but also teach them how to consume and produce legally.

For student presentations, I previously would never require students to cite the sources of their images or confirm whether or not they were acquired legally. I realize now that I must accept greater responsibility in teaching my students about digital citizenship and holding them accountable for their choices once informed. After all, there are easy and legal ways to acquire images off the Internet. For example, flickr.com has a search filter that, when enabled, will only return results tagged with a CC license. With a database that seems to grow exponentially (2400 images a minute), why choose illegal over legal? As an educator, I guess my reason for never tackling the copyright issue with students, or within my own lessons, was never because I did not know right from wrong. It was really just about taking advantage of the degree of anonymity on the Internet, not being aware of easy alternatives, and not understanding the impact copying the image has on the photographers.

So how do photographers feel about this issue? Here is Dan Heller's blog. His post, discussing the Orphan Act of 2008 (photos) was interesting to me because it contextualized the issue. There are people that lose when we copy images they use for income. I plan on sharing Dan's blog with my students. Although it is long for most teenage attention spans, with some diigo highlighting and sticky notes, we should be able to focus on the 'heart' of the issues.

As I begin to have a better understanding of my role in technology integration, I am looking forward to ensuring that my students recognize that their moral compass works the same regardless if they are online or off.

Education Unplugged...

I have been thinking lately about my teaching practice and the steps I need to do to become a better educator? In this process I thought it would be useful to question the use of the web 2.0 as an indispensable instructional resource. Specifically, what purpose is the web 2.0 serving in my lessons?

I believe that, at times, my use of web tools to enhance the educational experiences of my students has merely covered up poor instruction. Although a cool looking website with a wiki or blog may appease parents, schools, and motivate students - what is the purpose of its use? If I am to grow as an educator, I need to question the process of my teaching, the learning activities I chart for my students; I must have a clear pedagogy and approach that is founded on something other than the "oh that is cool" factor. Computers and technology do not teach... they are just instructional tools for use by the teacher.

So what am I saying? I believe that the first step to becoming a good teacher is to enter the instructional design process unplugged; no phones, pda's, laptops, projectors, etc... If it needs to be powered, do not use it! Ironically, Knowing how to teach and motivate in an "unplugged" learning environment may provide me with a better understanding of how to better integrate technology.

A Google search for the "The Greatest Educators Ever" resulted in a book by Frank Flanagan. He lists 18 educators spanning history as we know it; none of them used the web 2.0.

I contributed!

I have been reflecting recently on my lack of contribution to the web 2.o. Well, this weekend I stayed at the Double Tree Hotel in Rochester, NY - and guess what? I posted a review of my stay on the hotels.com website! I know this is really not a big deal, but it is a first step toward contributing.

Hotels.com screens all reviews before posting them, so for now there is no link...

Response Blog #1

Mastering a field of knowledge involves not only learning about the subject matter but also learning to be a full participant in the field." - Brown & Adler

I'm not a fan of beginning a reflection with a quote but here goes...

Yesterday I learned how to build a platform bed that will turn the trunk of my 4runner into an alternative to a tent for camping. The specifications and instructions are available here if you are interested. What I also learned from this link is that consumers of the web 2.0 have a responsibility. If I build this platform, I should go back to the forum and post something about my experience that may help the next person. The social construction of knowledge requires users like you and me. For way too long I have been stuck in the mindset of 1.0, well more like 1.5. I lurk over others contributions. I count on forums for product reviews, open source software for functionality, and user ratings for my foreign movie selection in Netflix. I have been reading and taking but never writing and contributing. As consumers of the web, are we reaching a point where it is our "civic duty" to ensure that we contribute something?

There is probably a lesson waiting to be extrapolated from my ramblings here, I think the title is "Good citizenship in the Web 2.0". The lesson will give students the opportunity to think about what it means to be a good citizen when participating in the social web.