Dan's Blog

Virtual School

2010-04-27T07:53:00.001-07:00

Image Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/teachingsagittarian/3317178695/sizes/m/

I love Thailand and ISB. I have lived here for almost 6 years and I have tremendous mixed feelings about leaving here after this school year. There's no doubt that I'm excited about my new job, my new challenges, and new learning opportunities. However, I know that I will miss playing and working with my wonderful friends and colleagues that will remain here. Even after 6 years, I am still impressed with my teaching colleagues level of dedication, knowledge, and passion for teaching/learning. Even during these difficult political times in Thailand, I know that ISB will continue to move forward in it's mission to provide the highest standard of education to its students. Hopefully ISB will not have to implement its Virtual School in the event that the campus closes to ensure student safety. However, it is great to see that learning will continue to take place even if it is done via distance learning. As a precautionary step teachers are now updating their Blogs and Panthernet posts with information on how students at home can remain active learners. It is interesting to think that perhaps in the not so distant future that distant learning could be the norm rather than the exception. Certainly the Cotail courses have helped many teachers become more familiar and comfortable with using technology in a meaningful way. These teachers are now using these skills in their classes, and they will be prepared to use their skills in the event that Virtual School is implemented.

Dare to (Interpret) Dream

2010-04-27T07:49:00.002-07:00

Image Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oskay/265899766/sizes/m/

Have you ever woken up from a strange dream and wondered if the dream had an underlying message or meaning? If so, this website may find interesting: hyperdictionary. Fortunately, I remember most of my dreams when I first wake up. Unfortunately, I rarely remember them 10 minutes later. However, for those dreams that really stay with me for the entire day I like to see how the hyperdictionary may interpret them. I have been quite surprised about accuracy of this site. Of course it is not 100% and the interpretations should be taken with a grain of salt, but it has forced me to reflect on some of my own dreams.

By the way, here is what hyperdictionary says about Fish being present in your dreams:

"Seeing fish swimming in your dream means insights from your unconscious mind. Thus to catch a fish, represents insights which have been brought to the surface. The fish is also an ancient symbol of Christianity and Christian beliefs. Consider also the common phrases "like a cold fish", "fish out of water" or something that is "fishy" about a situation. It may also imply a slippery or elusive situation. Dreaming that you are Seeing or eating fish, symbolizes your beliefs, spirituality, luck, energy and nourishment. It is food for the soul. Seeing a dead fish means disappointment and loss of power/wealth. Dreaming of cooking fish indicates that you are incorporating your new realizations with your spiritual feelings and knowledge. Dreaming that you are cleaning fish, suggests that you are altering your emotional expression in a way that will be presentable to others. You are censoring yourself and not expressing how you completely feel."

TED Talks

2010-04-27T07:49:00.001-07:00

Image attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/3258393831/sizes/m/

TED is a fantastic website. For the past 9 months I have not had cable/satellite TV. I thought that I would miss it, but I have found that I now spend less time surfing channels and more time surfing the net. Surfing TV channels is very passive. Even with about 100 channels to choose from you are still limited to the choices of material. Surfing the web, and also contributing to the web through Blogs, etc. makes me feel like a more active participant. More importantly, I have more control in choosing material that I'm truly interested in learning/viewing. TED has a wealth of interesting topics to choose from, and allows you to search speeches/presentations by subject. I highly recommend this site.

Flickr Photos and Student Videos

2010-04-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

My grade 5 students recently finished their PSA about Sustainability. The students worked in pairs and made I-Movies about various Sustainability issues such as Energy and Water Conservation. This entire project was a unique learning experience for both the students and myself. The students first researched their topic and wrote a script about: The Problem, The Causes of the Problem, and What You Can Do to Help. They were very tempted to use google images to find photos, etc. for their project and this lead to some interesting "teachable moments" about copyrights. Chrissy Hellyer was very helpful in providing information on how to use Flickr's advanced search feature to find Creative Commons photos. The students found that searching for images in this manner was still very simple. They were also very good about providing image attributions at the end of their videos. The videos will be downloaded to our local ISB YouTube. The students really enjoyed working on this project and their only complaint was they often had difficulty saving their work and the computers freezing up on them. I'm sure that if do a similar project again, they will run into less difficulties. I enjoyed this project because it allowed me to see how well these students could work together in small groups. It also allowed me to teach research, organizational and presentational skills.

I-Phoney??

2010-04-27T06:10:00.000-07:00

Image attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/s0mpho/3114260702/sizes/m/

There was a recent incident in the US where a young Apple employee accidently left his I-Phone in a bar. Losing personal items (especially at a bar) is common. What was not common about this incident was that the I-Phone he left behind was actually a prototype of the (not yet released) next generation I-Phone. I have a feeling this young engineer is currently working on updating his CV. The "lucky" finder of this phone soon discovered that his newly found treasure was not a typical I-phone and that in fact it was quite unique. He contacted Gizmodo, told them about the phone and was given $5,000 to send it to them. Gizmodo then proceeded to Blog about the phone much to Apples dismay and frustration. Click Here to see a video review of the new phone. Most recently a special police department named REACT-Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team) raided one of Gizmodo's editors home and confiscated 4 computers and 2 servers. Their warrant said they were looking for property that was used in a felony. So the question is: Who committed a crime? Is it the person who found and sold the phone or is Gizmodo guilty of possessing stolen goods. Gizmodo has not released the name of the person that found/sold the phone and the new question is: Does a Blogger qualify as a journalist since journalist can use the "shield law" to protect their sources. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out in the near future.

Final Project

2009-12-11T00:40:00.001-08:00

I am looking forward to working with my students and colleagues on the Sustainability Project. This project will help student realize that change can start with one person, one family, one grade, and one school. Hopefully this message and new habits will continue to spread to one, community, one country, and one world. I know that some of the students are already interested in using their technology skills to communicate their learning via a Public Service Announcement. This authentic and engaging project will enable the Grade 5 students the opportunity to not only showcase their technology skills and their learnings. It has the potential to also reach larger and more authentic audience that will hopefully recognize the importance of their cause and join it. This Sustainability Link directs you to a page with more detailed information about the project.

photo credit: http://www.buffalo.edu/greener_ub/images/env_student.jpg

Peripherals

2009-12-11T00:39:00.000-08:00

Image Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mastermaq/2555680503/

We are so fortunate to work at a school that truly embraces technology. We have access to some great tools. Here is a short list of some of the Peripherals that I use on a regular basis:

1 Document Camera-I use the document camera on a daily basis in conjunction with the projector to display a wide range of things from plants to coins. It is a great tool to use to display student work for everyone to see. With the new Math Program it allows students to share their various problem solving strategies.

2 Digital Camera-I use this for a variety of reasons including documenting the school year. I always put together an end of the year slideshow which the students and parents enjoy and have access to on either their flash drive or a CD. It is also great to use on field trips and to take photos for digital story telling.

3 Flash Drive-Each student in my class has their own flash drive which they use to transport mainly word documents to and fro school and home. This allows them to complete assignments outside of the classroom.

4 Microphone-The students will use microphones when they want to record quality sound for projects such as Podcasts.

5 Flip HD Recorder-The new flip cameras are great since they are light, compact and record high quality video on flash memory. They are simple to use and I have used them to record my students presenting science projects. I then downloaded to video and the students watched themselves and self-accessed their presentation skills. i think this was an enlightening experience.

Laptop management

2009-12-11T00:38:00.000-08:00

I feel very fortunate that my students have access to 12 computers almost all the time. Each grade 5 classroom has been provided with one cart of 12 computers. We also arrange with our colleagues times in which we will loan our carts out to other Grade 5 Classes. This allows us to have many opportunities to have a 1 on 1 computer/student ratio. Some of the things that I do in my classroom to help manage these laptops are:

1-Ensure that all students are aware that using the computers is a privilege and not a right. They can loose this privilege by not following expectations such as caring for the computers and/or using them in an inappropriate manner

2-All students are expected to wash their hands before use

3-I have two computer cart helps that assist with transporting the carts, distributing the computers and ensuring that they are returned and plugged in for charging in the correct space

4-I have designated students that a "tech experts" that are available to assist their peers with various applications

5-I use the "Fist" method to have the students partially close their computers when directions and redirection are given to ensure that they are focused.

Probably most importantly I am open to suggestions on any systems or strategies that may work even better in the class room.

Is NETS relevant to being a "Good Teacher"?

2009-12-11T00:37:00.000-08:00

How relevant are the NETS for Teachers and Administrators to being a "Good Educator"? The standards in the NETS are very important to being a good teacher regardless of the technology aspect and integration. If you take out the technology jargon, the 5 general themes highlighted in the NETS includes:

1-Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

2-Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

3-Model Digital-Age Work and Learning

4-Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

5-Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

You can see that if you take out the digital references, these are the things "Good Teachers" were doing long before computers became part of the classroom landscape. So I don't think that it is necessary for "Good Teacher" to feel obligated to use technology tools in the classroom, but "Good Teachers" will always seek out the best tools that are available to help enhance the learning of their students-whether that be a piece of chalk or a digital flip camera.

Image Attribution: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_473nrD5vEv8/SKQZFrchClI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/1W2GoeabaBA/s400/one-room-school.jpg

Can schools ensure that students are learning technology and information literacy?

2009-12-11T00:36:00.000-08:00

I guess a bigger question is "Can schools ensure that students are learning any curriculum?" The best way to ensure that a certain curriculum is being taught to to make it part of the schools curricula with a clear scope and sequence. It would also be important to have some hard data to determine if the students are learning the curriculum and to what extent. As you can see this is leading to a sticky mess when you try to put sequence technology skills in an ever changing technology landscape. For instance, I never had to learn how to use MS DOS, but I feel pretty comfortable using many different word processing programs that are available today. It is not unusual for a citizen living in a developing country to have a cell phone, but to have never used a land line phone. Is it necessary to teach and or learn technology tools in certain hierarchy? Absolutely not. Once again it takes many players to ensure that students are learning adequate and appropriate skills. First there needs to be an infrastructure in place where the tools are available. Then the teachers need to have the necessary skills themselves in order to assist their students. This may require additional support from technology teachers if they are available. Tools will constantly change and develop, so it is important that teachers remain dedicated to keeping up with the times help students develop their skills throughout their educational journey.

Image Attribution: http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/15/106415-004-1B158AEA.jpg

1- Whose job is it to teach the NETs and AASL standards to students?

2009-12-11T00:35:00.000-08:00

So whose job is it to teach the NETs and AASL Standards? We must first become more familiar with each of these 21st Century Standards. Upon examining both it is easy to see that NETS has a slant towards including technology skills while the AASL is based more on general and traditional learning skills such as Blooms Taxonomy. Many of these skills in both documents will be are hit upon throughout a child's educational journey from K-12 and beyond. So the simple answer to the question is that it is the job for everyone to teach these standards to students. If we concentrate on the technology aspect, we must remember that education starts at home. Parents must inform their children about the importance of safety when online and using other technology tools such as cell phones. It is also every educator's job (including teacher, librarians, administrators and counselors) to teach the NETS standards since students will use various technology applications and require "just in time" instruction. A key player also includes the technology instructors whose job it is to assist both teachers and students to find the right tool (application) for the job.

Image attributions: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_LearningStandards.pdf

Reflection of Final Project

2009-10-18T09:11:00.001-07:00

It's my intention that this final project be useful to our 5th grade team. Therefore I decided to design a field trip preparation video and a work packet for an upcoming field trip to a mangrove in Bang Phu, Thailand. It is my hope that the preview and work packet will help better prepare the teachers and students for a day of learning away from campus. The field trip will take place in January and compliments our FOSS science unit pertaining to Environments. We will be starting this unit in early November, and since our grade level only piloted part of this unit last year, there are many new things that we will learn and emphasize this year. Thus this final project is still in its early stages and will develop as we teach the unit. An outline of this project (including the essential questions and enduring understandings) can be found in UBD format on the project page for Course #3. So far preparation for this project has included: going to the actual site with another Grade 5 teacher, meeting with the guides that will help facilitate the activities, discussing our Environments unit and which activities will compliment the students learning, deciding on which hands-on activities such as a ph water quality test, soil sifting, and wildlife observations. Unfortunately the location of the mangrove is over an hour away and thus we will not have enough time to participate in actual tree planting. The video will be updated with samples of students' work and reflections from their science investigations. By including student work samples in the video, all of the students will feel a deeper personal connection and see the real life applications of the science concepts being taught throughout the unit. In this project I have thus far incorporated I-movie, screen capture, and google maps and images.

Screencasts

2009-10-18T09:10:00.002-07:00

The two screencast applications that I have used are Jing and Smarttools. I find both of them relatively easy to use. However, I would like the Smarttools program better if recorded the mouse position when it records so that others can see it during playback. I can see how using these screencast applications can really be beneficial to a MS or HS teacher that teaches the same class/level more than once. These programs would allow him/her to record their first delivery of instruction and then simply play it back for the next class(es) or for students that were absent and need the instruction. Screencasts can also be used as computer tutorials to help explain how to use program features and/or answer questions that you anticipate will come up frequently. With the onset of the H1N1 virus it is possible that some schools may need to close down for a few days. Teachers could communicate with their students via the internet and embed screen casts of their instruction. Thus it can be used for distance learning. Play the YouTube video to learn more about how Jing and how its features may help you.

Web Based Video

2009-10-18T09:10:00.001-07:00

The explosion of web based video can be viewed as a blessing or a curse. For me it depends on two things: download speed, and quality of the content. I have been cursed with slow download speeds and/or unreliable server connections. On many occasions after waiting for what seems like eternity, I finally get to view a video that is basically worthless or does not compliment the content/concepts that are being taught in class. It is at these moments that I find Web based video a time drain rather than a resource. Of course their are many gems out there if you seek hard enough. Google has quite a few good videos that download very quickly. YouTube allows anyone to make comments about the videos. Unfortunately these comments often contain inappropriate language. Therefore it is not a good location for young students to search for videos or for a teacher to use it as a resource off the cuff. Of course it is possible to use YouTube videos but it will require previewing and converting/saving it which can also be time consuming. I have already seen the bank of educational videos increase over the past two years and I know that the bank of videos will increasingly be easier to search and download. Of course it will always remain important for the teacher to preview all videos and make sure that it truly is rel event to course work.

Digial Storytelling

2009-10-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

Digital Storytelling is a great way for students to showcase their work while fostering organizational and creative skills. Our group which consisted of Mary Bellone, Chrissy Hellyer, Robin Bulsza, and Mike Jessee decided to do a digital story on "How to Pick a Just Right Book" from the ES Learning Hub. It was good for us to go through the process that the students must also go through when designing a digital story. Fortunately our team did not have any "teamwork" issues. We sat down together and brainstormed ideas of what we could do with our limited time, and resources. After deciding upon our theme, we started to design a storyboard to help organize our ideas. We then started the production by using the flip cameras to take video. Upon viewing the video, we decided that it would be more effective for us to use still pictures and voice overs to communicate our them in a movie. We then used I-movie to organize and edit the clips. we also added introduction and ending slides as well as a public domain music track for background music. We found that using still images is the most efficient method for beginners when making a digital story. Later in the year when my students make their digital stories, I will stick it to the KIS (Keep It Simple) method so that they can focus on effective communication rather than getting caught or distracted with too much unfamiliar technology. Once they have proven themselves capable of using the simple skills, they will be free to try to explore and try different methods for visual story telling.

Presentation Refinements

2009-10-18T09:08:00.002-07:00

When making Powerpoint and/or Smartboard presentations it is important to always keep your audience in mind, and try to avoid killing them with "death by power point". This weeks required readings helped remind me that I needed to make some modifications to my Back to School Night Powerpoint presentation. For the most part this presentation was o.k., and I had already made a few simple changes prior the presentation in August. However, there was one very long and content rich slide that focused on the curriculum. I liked the fact that the bullet points allowed for me to elaborate on each point rather than simply read descriptors to the parents. However, the slide required me to click on the mouse or Smartboard for each bullet point to appear. It would then fly in a quite distractingly manner. In addition, I felt like I was tethered to either the keyboard or Smartboard (I also plan to use a remote control next time). I have since made changes the that huge and distracting slide. It is now broken up into several slides that each contain a simple picture or graphic which compliments the content. I believe this new format will also help parents with English barriers better understand the content. Each year I speak to my students about how visuals can with compliment or distract an audience. We have already had a conversation in class since some students had been adding distracting images and animations to their blog posts.

Using Pictures in the Classroom

2009-10-18T09:08:00.001-07:00

This wonderful photo taken by Jeffery Pippen clearly shows a Black Mangrove.
Image attribution: http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/plants/avicennia-germinans081129-2446z.jpg

We all have different learning styles. Some of us are primarily auditory learners, while others may be more kinesthetic and/or visual learners. As educators it is our job to reach all students. The saying "Ä picture is worth a thousand words" holds true in the class room. Pictures (or other visual representations) can help students make more meaningful and clear connections with the content. Creative Commons is a good source for locating images that can be used to help enrich instruction. I have chosen the following image to use in the class room. It is a picture of a trees living in a Black Mangrove. A black mangrove is different than a red mangrove because the roots grow up and stick out of the soil like straws, rather that acting as stilts for the plant as they do in red mangroves. Although I personally find pictures red mangroves more visually interesting, the pictures I have chosen will be used as an aide to help describe what the 5th grade students will see on their field trip to a black mangove in Bang Phu later in the school year. I believe that this "preview" will help the students focus on making quality connections observations while they are on the actual field trip.

Teaching and Technology

2009-10-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

Taking these technology courses has made me more cognisant of how I currently use technology in the classroom and how I might implement more technology into my instruction. For years now I have encouraged and guided students on how to use technology to enhance their learning and presentation skills. This year I have made a greater effort to incorporate Blogs into our curriculum. Each student now has their own Blog and they are currently using it to showcase some of their work. So far the students have primarily used the Blogs to display some of the narrative writing papers. The Blog allows them to access a greater audience and receive feedback from the parents, relatives, friends and the general public. The students enjoy being able to "publish" their work and they appreciate the feedback the have been receiving. The students will also being making podcasts of their stories which be linked or embedded into their blogs. By making the podcasts he students will be working on their oral communication skills as well as learning new applications such as Garage Band. The students will also be using the Blogs to post book reflections and book reviews. I have also been using technology to a greater degree by emailing my parents the class newsletters rather than printing them and sending them home in the Friday Folder. I find this method to also be more environmentally friendly.

Mass Collaboration:

2009-05-12T04:29:00.000-07:00

All great projects require mass collaboration. The pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China, and The Chunnel are examples of engineering marvels that would never been possible without the Mass Collaboration of shared knowledge and physical labor. Blood, sweat, and tears are not necessary when it comes to Mass Collaboration via the web. One only needs an open mind and willingness to share challenge and justify ideas. It is now possible to for thousands or more individuals to collaborate in an efficient manner via the web. Wikipedia is essentially a Mass Collaboration site in which people freely share their knowledge with others. This knowledge is grown and filtered by other users of this mass collaboration tool. In fact a young student from Ireland recently posted bogus material on Wikipedia which was soon caught as inaccurate by other users, but not by the print media. M.C. allows for people of varied backgrounds and skill sets to contribute to almost any project. Challenging and building ideas in a diverse environment can yield unexpected, yet very positive outcomes. As teachers we work to instill the virtue of cooperative groups and the positive aspects of synergy. It is important for us to model M.C. to our students and give them a chance to participate in M.C. projects. This can be as simple as setting up a chat room discussion with other classes based on an academic theme, or organizing a community service project. It is also important that we set up norms for M.C. and think about what are the optimal conditions for certain projects. Although M.C. can be extremely helpful, sometimes it is possible for people to get distracted or bogged down with minute details. It is important that we pick appropriate projects for MC and use protocols that assist with avoiding analysis paralysis.

The Power of the Web:

2009-05-12T04:25:00.000-07:00

The web has made the world a much smaller place. Distance communication is now quicker, cheaper, and more efficient. We are living in an information age, and since information is power, users of the web have become empowered. We now do not need to rely travel agents to book airline tickets or hotel rooms. It is now (usually) extremely easy for an internet user to find bargains themselves without having to pay a middle man. The web is also a great source way to get like minded consumers’ opinions about products and services. A sales person is usually biased due to his/her vested interest in selling a certain product. Sites such as Consumer Reports and even chat rooms are great sources for viewing and posting objective views. The power of the web has allowed people to quickly and conveniently stay in touch with family and friends via email, skype, etc. at a minimal cost. It is also changing the very nature of education (or information dissemination), business and social interactions. Since there is an aspect of anonymity, more people feel comfortable with virtually socializing with others. This of course can be viewed as a positive or a negative. However, there is no question that the web is powerful, and some people choose to abuse that power. Unfortunately, hackers, virus program writers, cyber bullies, and internet predators can cause havoc including huge financial losses, mental anguish, and despair. Since web 2.0 is now more interactive than the passive web 1.0 we can hopefully collaborate in a manner that limits the abuse of the web. We need embrace and build upon all of the positive aspects of this amazing tool is continuing to become more powerful at an incredible rate.

Cyber Bullying is Harassment

2009-04-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

Bullying comes in many forms. When I was a young child and young adult there were mainly two types of bullying; physical and mental. The physical bullying usually occurred when a bigger or stronger student picked on a weaker one. The mental bullying involved the use verbal insults, threats and intimidation. Although the mental bullying did not leave physical bruises or scars, the psychological trauma often hurt the victim worse than any physical confrontations. However in the 1970s and 80s, a child's home always provided a safe haven for those that had to endure any type of bullying. Things have changed a lot since those days. Now bullies can use modern technology to as a means to harass others 24/7. Cyber bullying can happen via sms texts, chat rooms, social networks, blog posts, etc. Although the word "cyber bullying" sounds ridiculous, it's very nature is quite serious. I found articles about how this type of harassment has driven minors and young adults to suicide. I've included the following link on how children can help protect themselves: 10 Ways to Protect Your Children From Cyber Bullying. The one thing that this article did not mention was that although victims can not always escape harassment, they can take steps in protecting themselves. It is important that the person being harassed keep all electronic evidence such as threatening sms texts and emails. This evidence can be very useful in tracking down the culprit, and bringing them to justice. Each sms and email contains code similar to an IP address that authorities can use to trace to the source of the threat. Laws are starting to be drafted in many states in America and other countries to help discourage cyber bullying. However, sometimes the best defence is a good offense. Teachers and parents need to educate children on how to protect themselves against cyber bullies. This includes keeping personal data such as user names and passwords confidential, and reminding children anytime they send a message or picture to someone it can very well come back to haunt them in the future.

Copyright Usage and Plagiarism

2009-04-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

Have you heard Pink Floyd's song "Time"? Unfortunately this song got me into deep trouble when I was only 12 years-old. My English teacher at the time had assigned us students to write 3 different types of poems. We were required to write one haiku, one cinquain, and one free verse. I struggled with writer's block and procrastination, but managed to complete the haiku and cinquain before class ended. The teacher allowed us to complete any unfinished work as homework that night. However, at that age I was far more interested in playing basketball after school with my friends. It wasn't until I was eating breakfast the next morning that I suddenly remembered I still needed to complete the free verse poem before my first class of the day. My older brother happened to be playing one his favorite Pink Floyd albums as I munched on my Captin Crunch. The song that was playing on his record player was"Time". I found the lyrics mesmerizing and the music hypnotic. It was ironic that the song was about time since it was the essential thing that I lacked. In one fell swoop I made the terrible decision to plagiarize the following lyrics: "Ticking away the moments that make up the dull day. You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way. Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown, waiting for someone or something to show you the way. Tired of laying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain. You are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today. Then one day you find, ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run. You missed the starting gun." To me it sounded like the perfect free verse poem and I didn't fear that my teacher would know it wasn't my own work. I figured she was too old to listen to Pink Floyd. With a bit of guilt for cheating, and a bit of a sense of relief for completing the assignment I handed it in when I entered the class room. The next day we received our poems back. The haiku and cinquain were marked with corrections and suggestions. The free verse only had the words "please see me" written at the top. After class I trudged towards my teacher's desk with thoughts of possible expulsion running through my head. To my surprise the teacher informed me that she was delighted with my "Time" poem. In fact she said she was so impressed that she would like my permission to enter it in a poetry contest. My relief quickly turned to fear. It was one thing to fool a teacher, it was another thing to fool the other people. She quickly added that I could have a day to think it over. That night I did not get much sleep as I played many scenarios though my head. By morning I knew that I had to come clean. I made an effort to arrive extra early at school in order to talk with my teacher before class began. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard as I approached her desk. I then told her the truth about plagiarizing the lyrics of the song. It was quite scary yet cathartic for me to tell the truth. However, she seemed unfazed by my confession. She simply and calmly said that she appreciated my honesty, but that she was deeply disappointed and that in addition to informing my parents about the situation I would receive an F for the assignment. In hindsight it is obvious that the teacher knew that it was not my work and was just giving me an opportunity to admit it. It was a lesson that I will never forget and that I often share with my students to try to discourage plagiarism on all levels. That incident took place over 20 years ago. Today it is very far easier for someone to steal other's work by simply clicking their mouse a few times to copy/cut/paste or download a picture or song illegally. However, just because something is easy or even prevalent (in the case of illegal downloads through programs such as Napster) does not make it right. Checking for plagiarism has also become much easier with sites such as Plagiarism Checker.Com. Copyright laws were first written to not only protect the intellectual property of the author, but also to promote academics. At some point they have become something to fear in more litigious societies such as America. Copyright laws vary from country to country, and in many cases they are open to interpretation. In Thailand there is a lot of leeway for educators to use copy written material for educational purposes. However, that should in no way be interpreted that teachers have carte blanche when it comes to this issue. We need to ask ourselves if using other people's work without permission is truly necessary and morally responsible. Fortunately there is plenty of access to great resources that fall under the Public Domain category. There is also an emerging gray area which falls between copy right and free domain. Take a look at Creative Commons to find information and resources in the gray area. Copy written material may be used if it passes the Fair Use test. According to copyright article on Wikipedia, the following 4 factors to be considered if copyrighted materials can be used:

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
the nature of the copyrighted work;
the amount and substantially of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Privacy Online

2009-04-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

Is there such a thing as privacy online? Although I would like to think that there is privacy online, I am very skeptical. We can control what others see of our own habits and private lives by responsibly managing our "footprints" that we leave behind on such things as Blogs, FaceBook, Chats, and other social networks. However, many Internet Service Providers can be legally obligated to provide personal information such as search queries upon a government or a governmental agency request. In some countries, the ISPs are obligated to keep records up a specific number of days on all users. I am not aware of such laws in America. However, in America and Europe there have been murder convictions in which internet search histories were called into evidence for prosecution. From my readings, these particular convictions were appropriate, and the seeking of appropriate justice outweighed these criminal's loss of privacy. The criminals thought that by simply clearing their browser history on their computer, it would delete any record of them visiting a particular site. However, the investigators simply used the suspects computer IP address and cookies to reference with popular search engines. So can we expect and should we expect privacy while online? I believe that most users want and expect privacy. There has been a concern that some providers and search engines will sale search histories to the highest bidder. Perhaps an insurance company would be interested in your habits or interests. Read

"Google Anonymizing Search Records To Protct Privacy" for a very interesting article about how Google will actually be adding a level of privacy for its users.

On a fun note, watch the following You Tube video about FaceBook In Reality:

Digital Footprints

2009-04-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

There is the saying "No matter where you go, there you are." Now that we leave "digital footprints" of our lives on the Internet we can just as easily say, "No matter where you've been, there you Still are." Social Networks such as My Space, Face Books, Chat Rooms are increasingly becoming part of the web landscape. Although there are huge benefits to be able to network with a global community to share ideas, information, ask questions, and show case accomplishments, etc., there is also an increased chance that you may potentially leave behind a "footprint" that you may regret in the future. Many employers are now using the web to search for information about perspective employees. So what can you do about embarrassing photos or comments about yourself posted on the web? The first step is to search the web and look into your own digital footprint. You need to see what kind of information about yourself is public. You should then make an effort to clean up your online profile of anything that might be potentially embarrassing or offensive. Most of the time you can do this without assistance. However, there is an emerging market of "cleaners", such as Reputation Defender and Reputation Hawk, that can assist you for a fee. You may also want to take steps to improve your profile by leaving "footprints" that highlight your positive traits and successes. The easiest way to avoid having to do a cleaning session is to always manage your Internet profile in responsible manner. A good rule of thumb might be "Think Twice, Post Once". Teachers and parents have the responsibility to educate children on how to effectively manage their "footprints". In my experience, I believe that conversations and explicit lessons can begin to take place at school and at home with children as young as 8 years old. That seems to be the age where many school age children (fortunate enough to have access to the Internet) start using applications such as Blogs and Chat Rooms at home and school. The use of these applications allow for those "teachable moments" about topics such as cyber bullying, online privacy, and digital footprints.

Reflection on Creating the Final Project

2009-02-28T03:58:00.000-08:00

It was great to be able to collaborate with team members in creating our final project. It was also very helpful using project models from UBD. The UBD model helped us stay focused on the essential questions and enduring understandings rather than focusing on the technological aspects of the product; the student designed glogs. We still have to do some fine-tuning of the project but the overall frame work of the project is sound. Our next steps will be to find appropriate mentor texst to use with the Social Issues reading genre activities. We also need to learn more about how to effectively use, and then teach the students, the glogs features as an effective communication tool showcase their thoughts and their work. One feature that we are excited about is that we can keep the students in-house so that we can monitor appropriate feedback. It also has a feature in which the blogs can be rated on a 1-4 star system. We will be able use this feature to have the students rate each others projects in addition to the rubric which we will use to evaluate their work.

Project Sketch

2009-02-27T06:17:00.000-08:00

Members from the Grade 5 team will be working together on this project. Member's include: t Diane, Robin, myself, and our grade level tech guru Chrissy (thank goodness). Our project will relate to a major 5th grade goal of helping students build their literacy skills.

Our project will address the Technology Standards (NETS•S) and Performance Indicators for Students

1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes
using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
d. identify trends and forecast possibilities.

5. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

We will be uing a a tool called Glogster in an effort to met the requirements of the standards above. Student's will make a glog (interactive poster with links) to express their ideas about what they are reading. It will also help students understand Digial Citizenship.

Letting Go

2009-02-27T05:14:00.000-08:00

Are teachers ready to let their students use their own technology, such as cell phones, in the classroom? Students are certainly willing and excited about using these tools more freely. Tools such as I-pods and cell phones can bring big benefits if used correctly. What concerns me, and many other educators, is that these devices can also be disruptive and not meet the desired educational goals. So how can we use technology in the classroom and get positive results. Nathan Kerr, a school teacher in New Zealand encourages his students to use their mobile phones in class. They often capture video of the key lecture points of his geography class and use it for future review before tests. His students became excited about using the technology and started producing and scripting their own educational movies. In fact, Nathan was awarded a scholarship from Microsoft, and won an award of Innovative Teacher of the Year in NZ. How else can we use cell phones in class?: connect with an expert, use the calculator, use the memo or calendar as a personal planner, take photos of experiments. I'm sure the list goes on. What I would like to see is a more comprehensive list of uses and strategies of how to sucessfully use the tools in class. It is not because I am not willing to explore and take risks, it's because I value the limited time I have with my students in which a wide variety of subjects and objectives must be taught. At our school, technology is already a part of our students'everyday school life. We frequently use the smartboard, computers, and video. Thumb drives are already part of our standard 5th grade supply bag. It will probably not be long before mp3 players are also standard equipment. So the question is not if these types of tools will be used in the class, the question is will teachers be prepared and willing to use them effectively?

Brave New World Order-Implications

2009-02-27T04:32:00.000-08:00

What is on the Horizon? Or better yet, what is on the Horizon Report? I found our F2F session on Wednesday very interesting and somewhat scary. The "Elevator" pitches were very interesting. The years between now and 3 years in the future does not concern me, and many of the tools and applications such as Cloud Computing, and Geo Everything is already here (or quickly merging into our lives). What scares me is the Big Brother aspect of this technology which no one seemed to address. What happened to personal privacy? Did the people get any say on this? If your digital camera, and cell phone will always know you location it's quite conceivable that others (perhaps with a less that honorable agenda) will have access to this information. The personal web is an interesting concept, but I still don't completely understand it. Isn't Google already doing some of this by scanning our emails and using key words to place advertisements? Semantic-Aware Applications sounds great, but there will always be room for error. I once heard that the boys and girls at google want computers to perform like they did on the old Star Trek Episodes... "Computer", "Working"....Just ask it a question and you will receive the answer. I think smart objects are already emerging-for example our school ID/Lunch (smartcard). I remember reading Bill Gates' book The Road Ahead, an how he talked about this type of technology. In fact I believe he designed a "smart house" that will monitor and adjust it's own envirnment (lighting, music, art work) based upon where guests are located in the house (scaning their preferences from the smartcard in their possession). What I do not want is for everyone in the world to be "chipped" with RFID. Technology....tool to make life easier and more meaningful? Or are we inviting Big Brother to solve our problems and control us? I know that there has to be a balance between security and personal freedom, but in an idealistic world, it would be great if we could use technology to unite people rather than building invisible walls. Sometimes I love technology. At other times, it scares me and I want to move to the mountains and be completely disconnected from anything relating to today's current digital technology. No cell phones, no emails, no hastles; just a fishing rod, book, and cold drink. I wonder how others feel about what is On the Horizon?

The Psych Files

2009-02-27T03:59:00.000-08:00

Looking for One-Stop Shopping? Here is a site for you: The Psych Files . Easy to navigate and has what you want and need: Blog, RSS feeds, Podcasts, and Videos. This site has everything a teacher, parent, or student could want. Want to learn the names of different parts of the brain? Click on:

Or how about information specifically for teachers:Unfortunately, some of the material is "for sale" on this site, but there is still plenty of free and interesting information such as: Can video games be educational?....and how "good" video games are similar to "good" teachers. Happy surfing.

Noun to Verb-"Bloom Revised"

2009-02-25T17:10:00.000-08:00

What is in a name? New Bloom and the Revised Bloom was the topic of Andrew Churches' article: Bloom Taxo nomy, Bloom's Dig itally. When you compare the two side by side it is easy to see that they are not dramatically different. The 4 LOTS, Lower Order Thinking Skills, are very similiar. However, the HOTS, Higher Order Thinking Skills, are slightly rearranged. Where does the "revised Bloom's"come from? In the 1990's, a former student of Bloom, Lorin Anderson, revised Bloom's Taxonomy and published it in 2001. It now uses verbs rather than nouns for each of the categories. What does this look like in the digital world? You can visit the educational origami blog for more reading. This model from that blog helped me understand it better (I guess I'm still in the LOTS realm :)

I like the fact that examples related to technology are included in this model. However, I was a bit surprised to see filming, blogging and podcasting as examples at the highest level. We all know that there are "LOTS" -pun intended, of YouTube videos that have no merit and never should have been "created". However, I suppose like all projects a rubric or critical analysis of any project will help determine it's true merit.

2009-02-25T07:05:00.000-08:00

$10 Laptop

2009-02-25T01:38:00.000-08:00

I recently read a blog posted by Scott McLeod titled “A $10 laptop?” Obviously the title caught my eye. I was thinking… 10 bucks for a laptop?! There’s got to be a catch! Apparently India is on a mission to create a $10 laptop that will have 2 GB of RAM, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi. India’s National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology wants to expand digital literacy, create wireless access to rural areas, and provide free or low-cost access to online content. Wow, they are setting the bar high! Unfortunately at this time it is not possible for them to design such a computer at such a low cost. However, the thing that really grabbed my interest and made me reflect was the fact India is making an effort to promote digital literacy to Everyone, . What a paradigm shift! Can you imagine someone living in a rural area suddenly having access to such a wealth of information? Of course there are huge logistics to overcome (I read somewhere else that the Wi-Fi maybe provided via busses traveling through certain areas-thus the connections would be intermittent. But the sudden introduction of technology to a group of people reminds me of how some people living in 3rd world and developing countries have gone from never having a phone (landline), to suddenly having and using a mobile phone. It makes me doubt that there is a hierarchy of tech skills that we need to know in order to use tools of the future. For example, I never learned how to effectively use MS DOS, but I feel rather proficient with basic word processing skills and tools. Fortunately the engineers, code writers, etc. are making technology tools more user friendly for the masses (especially Mac in my opinion). However, it is important to remember that even though a tool can be easy to use, it is far more important on how the tool is being used. That is the reason why digital literacy skills (i.e. accessing and using information with a critical eyes) are a necessary and crucial step in empowering people with today’s technology. After all a child can do a lot of damage with a hammer, but a carpenter can create a masterpiece.

Tech Classes

2009-02-01T06:17:00.000-08:00

What I hope to get out of this course?

I want to learn more about how to effectively integrate technology tools in the classroom. I also want to make sure that using certain technologies will be meaningful for the students.

1. My thoughts on Personal Learning Networks:
I found the Skype-cast with Clearance Fisher very interesting. I like the fact that he shared a few examples of projects that his students have worked on in his classes. I also appreciated his honesty that not all assignments/projects have been successful. Perhaps the fear of failure, the fear of learning new technology tools, and the fear of releasing a certain amount of control to our students inhibits many teachers from trying such networking (hub) projects. I can make a personal connection to these feelings when my students participated in a Ning book club last school year. Although I loved the idea of my students networking with other students from around the world, I felt frustrated about the technology tools and "class management" of this project. These frustrations included the amount of lost time due to technology problems, the screening student posts, commenting on posts, and managing club participants ( I had difficulty with deciding who can participate when I have no idea if the student will add or distract from the project). Overall I felt the project was not worth the time/effort involved for both my students (who wasted a lot of time posting their thoughts), and my own time. However, I'm not completely opposed to trying a similar projects in the future once I've learned more about how to effectively implement technology into the curriculum. I also liked how Clearence said, "The teacher is no longer the source of all knowledge". Students can learn so much from each other, and today's digital native children have come to expect immediate feedback and opportunities to interact with their peers rather than sit passively as the teacher pours knowledge into their minds.

2. How do we address truth and bias in the classroom?
Chris Betcher provided some gems in his Skye cast that I will immediately use in my own class room. Primaraly the information he provided about how to narrow google searches will be very helpful. I will now be using google for educations, and the google advanced search engine. I also learned that the advanced search feature can allow you to search for certain types of files (and that Shockwave files are great for Smarboard lessons). I also liked the interactive aspect of Chis' presentation. It allowed us to try our hand at narrowing on google searches. I think my students would also enjoy (and learn a lot) by participating in such web scavenger hunts. The hoax websites were also fun and can be used to help students be more discerning about the information/misinformation that is on the web. The conversations about Wiki was also interesting. I feel more comfortable about using it in my class. To paraphrase one of our classmates: It can be used as a first source, but not as the only source. I also enjoying learning about how the history of a wiki article can be viewed. It's amazing how quickly an article on wiki can evolve. I also like the fact that if someone were to maliciously erase the latest post, it can be easily restored by searching and re posting a version from the history. Although I had recently learned the difference between .com, ,gov, .ac, etc. sites, it was still a helpful reminder. My question about Chris' presentation is: At what age/grade level are students ready and capable to critically evaluate the validity of a website?