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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Further down the trail...Cyber PD #2

for hosting the collaborative learning opportunity.
As I moved into reading chapters 3 and 4...I feel like I have put many miles on the trail behind me with lots of learning and still many more miles to go-much learning to do.  Thanks to everyone who's participating in this event with me as you've all touched and inspired me in so many ways...

I am reiterating what I shared in my previous thinking about reading this text digitally.  By reading the book Who Owns the Learning? by Alan November on my Kindle app, I am able to instantly move to the digital links offered within the text.  When I've gone to these links, they've been another resource of information to support the Digital Learning Farm way of thinking.  Two links of think for this section via twitter...1) Why am I not already following @globalearner (Alan November) and 2) Why not connect to Darren Kuropatwa @dkuropatwa since he's got a great handle on what the digital scribe should look like-and I want to know more about how the "digital scribe" looks in the primary classroom.  So, I sent him this tweet:
He responded with the following suggestion:
That led me to the link "Mapping Media to the Common Core" by Wesley Fryer-along with a suggestion as to how it might look in K-2 classes.  When I went  to the link, and you'll probably notice too-go there now if you haven't (I'll wait)... that some of the apps we've read about and discussed as a learning community are found there.  It also took me back to the student as tutorial designer-and at Fryer's site-there are many other options in addition to the video scribe and screen chomp.  The site is chocked full of tons of ideas on how you can take your students and get them creating anything they desire...

A key point that was touched on in chapter 3 is publishing and getting feedback from an audience!  I know first hand how great it feels to get comments and feedback on blogs!  I see this wonderful feedback through two lenses-as a writer (receiving comments on my own blog) and as a teacher (seeing my students connect with other students on their blogs).  An idea that was shared in giving feedback that I connected to was the "star and a wish" idea-which I also follow when conferring-but I call it "two hugs and a push".  Reinforce things done well and add a suggestion for work when next we meet.  Most importantly though-remembering technology growth is not the end point...
This led me to my next link of think...I saw this pin via Pinterest and went in search of the original source:
   
So that led me to think more deeply about what do we want kids doing with technology-which I believe is important in a digital learning age-but the message is clear-it's not just about creating the project as an end to itself-tools should be used to move toward what @plugusin Bill Ferriter is suggesting and what I believe Alan November had in mind when he authored his book...
Technology should move us toward things like raising awareness, joining partners and making a difference. 
As I read chapter 4, student as researcher, the idea of designating one computer as the official research station for the room got me onto another link of think-how many classrooms in the USA-land of the free and home of the brave-have not one computer linked to the internet...I am shocked!
Here is the data via The Institute of Educational Sciences-
In 2009, 97 percent of teachers had one or more computers located in the classroom every day, while 54 percent could bring computers into the classroom. Internet access was available for 93 percent of the computers located in the classroom every day and for 96 percent of the computers that could be brought into the classroom. The ratio of students to computers in the classroom every day was 5.3 to 1.
Teachers reported that they or their students used computers in the classroom during instructional time often (40 percent) or sometimes (29 percent). Teachers reported that they or their students used computers in other locations in the school during instructional time often (29 percent) or sometimes (43 percent).
Teachers reported having the following technology devices either available as needed or in the classroom every day: LCD (liquid crystal display) or DLP (digital light processing) projectors (36 and 48 percent, respectively), interactive whiteboards (28 and 23 percent, respectively), and digital cameras (64 and 14 percent, respectively). Of the teachers with the device available, the percentage that used it sometimes or often for instruction was 72 percent for LCD or DLP projectors, 57 percent for interactive whiteboards, and 49 percent for digital cameras.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). Teachers' Use of Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools: 2009 (NCES 2010-040).
I thought there was less technology out there than the statistics suggest (these are from 2009).  Leading me to think that we've got to start using technology differently.  Which is why I am glad we are having #cyberPD on this book...
To that end...two routines are popping into my mind as I've recently seen both on blogs or twitter...Wonder Wednesdays and Genius Hour.  I am thinking that these times would serve as opportunities for the roles that are suggested in the book to become regular habits where they could serve to move students forward in the roles suggested from the book (tutorial creator, scribe, and researcher-so far). 
Back to the learning trail...

28 comments:

  1. Amy,

    You really show us what being a connected learner means in this post. It is full of helpful links and connections to our reading. I think doing this yourself as a learner will be a tremendous help in guiding your students to do this as learners, too. You have also helped all of us move farther along in this process, too. Thank you.

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    1. Thanks Jill!
      I know that making further connections helped my learning grow so much. I love how the community of participants is coming together and pushing our thinking as we are going through this work...

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  2. Thank you for your thinking! Way to go after the answers to your questions via Twitter! You've got that :modeling the sharing of knowledge with a global audience" down pat!

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    1. Thanks Mary Lee! I never really thought about how this was modeling until you mentioned it...

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  3. Whew! No wonder your head has been spinning! (Hope you are feeling better!) What a mind map image this post would create! Love your thinking and where it takes you and then to the final result of the implication in your classroom. I'm following a few more people on Twitter now too to make those connections and to learn how to use technology to enhance learning -- love that pin! (I pinned it too!) Great thinking!

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    1. :) Michelle,
      Yes, feeling better but really busy this week with the kids and getting things done around the house-just now did Spring cleaning-if that tells anything...I am considering your idea of mind-mapping this piece of writing based on your and Julie's thinking. Yes, that graphic by Ferriter hit home for me (I think I saw your pin of it first and then acouple of others and wanted to know who the original source was-inspired by an idea on Darren K's website-finding original sources)...Thanks!

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  4. Thanks for your post. I can’t believe how you can jump from one website to another so quickly and learn so much so fast. Thanks for all these links!

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    1. Pat,
      You're welcome. I am glad to share my learning so that others may grow...it's all part of the Digital Learning Farm concept.

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  5. Amy,
    Thanks so much for connecting with Darren Kuropatwa and including the Mapping Media
    to the common core website. I know that this is a site I will revisit!
    Jamie

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    1. You're welcome! I felt like I hit the jackpot when Darren suggested Wesley Fryer's site...I think it will be an excellent resource in growing the roles of students on the Digital Learning Farm.

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  6. Amy, thanks very much for the searching you did & the sharing of those links. I really will enjoy exploring some of the paths further. Sometimes I beleive that we need to find ways that will help awareness of the possibilities in our world, far beyond the classroom and sharing as a scribe or researcher could be some of those ways.

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    1. Linda,
      HI. You're welcome...I agree that searching beyond our classroom will create awareness of global work that's happening now and how we can connect with it-we just have to make the leap.

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  7. Amy, I really appreciated the way you expanded the connections and pushed our thinking out from the book! And, thanks for helping us find Darren on Twitter. I'm following him now! You're also making me think (again) about why I didn't read the Kindle version of this book.

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    1. Laura,
      Thanks, glad you found the connections helpful. I think paper copies of books have their place but research and studying for pd has its place in the digital world too-I think that it brings me in closer contact with the authors-and those sited in the book to allow for digital connections that 5 years ago-might have been possible-but the catalyst is Twitter...definitely a change for the good.

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  8. Amy,
    Good for you to search Darren and Alan out on Twitter! It will help to keep the learning going!Thanks for all of the other resources you have shared!

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    1. Erika,
      You're welcome.
      yes, keeping the learning going-there's really no end in sight with the ideas this book opens to!

      Delete
  9. Amy,
    Oh, my - thank you for sharing your thinking and resources--so much to think about, try out, connect with...!

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    1. Linda,
      You're welcome...yes, much to think about.

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  10. Terrific post Amy. Michelle, maybe half-jokingly, commented on how this post would work well as a mind-map. But I think she is on to something. There are many people on line who talk about remixing, and it has taken me awhile to truly understand the role remixing has in learning. You could, for instance, take the content of this blog and with a tool like Prezi, MindMeister, or Coggle recast it into a mind-map. Some of the tools are collaborative in nature, so that their is an additional layer available.

    Here is one discussion of remixing for learning: http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/remixing-as-a-classroom-strategy/

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    1. Julie,
      Thanks for encouraging me...I am going to try coggle.
      wE'll see how it turns out.

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    2. Gosh I hate it when I use the wrong "their/there". I do know better. Sorry folks.

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  11. Amy, you continue to bring out points that are convincing me that I need explore new areas of technology. i compliment you on your attention to the details when talking about educational technology and why we need to pursue digital learning. Your post is worth sharing with many administrators!

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    1. Thank you Jaana,
      Your compliments mean so much. If you do share with administrators, let me know how it goes...keep me posted!

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  12. Amy,
    Thanks for encouraging me to follow Darren on Twitter and all the information you shared in your post. I agree with your statement, "it's not just about creating the project as an end to itself." I will be reflecting on how I can shift away from this in my 2nd grade classroom.
    Barbara

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    1. Barbara,
      I know that piece will be a big change for me-this past year, I was just happy that I got the kids blogging! And we did join the quad blogging community but the next level of work was missing!

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  13. Amy, thank you for your comment on my blog post I appreciate your advice for "the Rule of 3" with starting to blogging. I have really enjoyed learning from everyone along with the conversations have really helped me to consider some different views. Your post is super smart especially with digital literacy. Thanks

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  14. Thanks Maria,
    I have really learned so much by reading this book and exploring what the Digital Learning Farm concept could look like in the primary classroom...I know I can get there-it will be a shift but I can do this!

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  15. Amy,
    You have really taken this book to another level. Your additional research, trying new ways to create, and thinking through what this means for your classroom have really kept me thinking. You have contributed
    Much to the conversation. I have learned so much each time I've stopped.

    Cathy

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