Google Teacher Academy Reflection

This opportunity was amazing.  I have been an Apple Distinguished Educator for 1.5 years now and love the networking opportunity.  The networking with GCT has been just as wonderful for networking.

The Academy was a neat adventure to be with 50 incredible educators and then cramming in the great wealth of Google into our brains until near explosion.  I consider myself to know lots about Google, but there were many things I found that I didn't have a clue about.  

As part of my follow up activities, I am hoping to produce a 40 things you can do tomorrow using Google in your classroom.  I would then be able to present this as a workshop to provide a condensed version of our experience.  Seeing what is possible is one way to open the eyes of educators to change.  At the same time, I want to caution educators to be careful how deep and how far they choose to go.  We want to make sure that we are using our time wisely to use what we need.  Here is where Just In Time learning comes in for teachers as well.  

I think for teachers JIT learning is almost as important as for students.  If we try and learn it all now, without direct application, it will just be added to the frustration level.  Prior to April of this year, I had experimented in Google Earth and created a basic virtual field trip.  During April of this year I was asked to share Google Earth in a meaningful way.  To me this became creating a Google Lit Trip. I have since created 2 Google Lit Trips; however, I built my skills as needed to complete the tasks.  (I still have a personal goal to learn the time coding features - but I don't have a project that needs it yet.)

I found the value of the GCT Academy in being:

1. Expanding my network of incredible educators,
2. Expanding the fly past knowledge of the Googlverse
3. Forcing me to think deeper about how to apply and present Google and its wealth of resources as meaningful tools to teachers (that may not be as eager as I can be.)

Kevin

Google Literature Trip

I had the pleasure of presenting with Jerome Burg at BC Literacy Forum conference. The link to the recording of our presentation. It does require a bit of Java install (automatically).

https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/launch/play.jnlp?psid=2008-06-19.1739.M.4E2872FEDB7D69F3FCADABF491B2F1.vcr

I cannot say enough about how pleased I am to have worked with Jerome on this presentation. I was challenged to complete a second literature trip to share and learned new information to be able to share it. In preparing, I summarized what I see as the Return on Investment.

Student Engagement
Deep Learning with Many Connections
Reaches Visual / Spatial Learners
Reading with Purpose
Cross Curricular applications
Encourages global links to sources, people and resources
Alignment with PLO’s, IML Learning Capacity and NETS-S

A personal note for teachers thinking about doing a Google Literature Trip. Try it and you will learn more about that piece of literature than you may have in studying it with your students for years.

Kevin

Web 2.0 is not the Future of Education

In response to http://injenuity.com/archives/207#comment-1109

Jen,

An interesting conversation. I have to say I found your initial post provoking; however, I understand where you are coming from.

Our District Motto is "Keeping Learners at the Centre."

I don't know that Web2.0 is the right catch all but I will work within that category. I believe students today are different than even 10 years ago. If we want to keep them at the centre, we need to change as they and society changes. I do a lot of professional development workshops and get quite annoyed being asked to teach a software title. I reflect back to the requester to tell tell me what their learning goals are and ask how this will integrate to the curriculum.

A quote from Brigham Young University that I just love is "The goal of teaching is to teach our students to be learners. The content is what they practice with. "

With the world changing in ways such as a online community being compared to being a country with its size and other features. Students are different and have opportunities to learn differently. A few years back (probably 10 now) Bernajean Porter worked with our Ministry of Education to define technology use in three ways - Literacy - Adaptive and Transformative.

At some point we all need the literacy level (skills), then we can move to doing what we already do (PPT) to doing things not possible before. Transformative is where I want to see most of the time spent. Voice Thread was an example discussed earlier. If we just record ourselves that is just literacy, if we use it to practice a speech that might be adaptive, but if we use it to , that could have been done before . Using Voice Thread for a global (or local) conversation with voice, text, files, annotations was not possible.

Students and Teachers don't need to learn every Web2.0 application; however, we do need to prepare students to learn and use the tools that they will need throughout their life. (I actually don't use Voice Thread myself but I can see the potential.) I love working with wikispaces.com. It doesn't matter if you use Wikispaces or PB Wiki or any other tool. What I am teaching is becoming creators of information and publishing to a limited (or global audience.) I would hope that spending time learning to write with a wiki would transfer to other wikis, blogs, voice threads, and even podcasts.

I love using technology. I see so much potential. I totally agree that learning should be central.

I question where the balance is between "I am teaching them to learn so technology is a lower priority" and "I am teaching them to learn with technology"
Kevin

Security

I had an interesting conversation yesterday about security on a school network.  The "Ah Ha" moment for me was when I was informed of the greatest security risk - the USER.  When networks become super secure, the user is encouraged to find ways around the security.  When you can't do what you believe you need to do, frustration and creativity set in.  

I found this amazing and I agree.  Last year, I was introduced to the Yes And concept....  There are three kinds of people.  

No Way - They don't want to try things and whatever you suggest is just a No Way.

Yes, But - They like the ideas but have lots of reasons why it won't, can't or shouldn't work.

and

Yes, And - These people like the ideas AND seek for ways to make them work.  There are always hurdles, and there are lots of ways to overcome hurdles.  In terms of Security, the Yes, And group is the most dangerous.  We don't take no very well and seek creative alternatives.

I had to laugh when a school district recently blocked Facebook.  In the same breath I was told about the blocking, I was informed about UnblockFacebook.com as a way around.  I realize that that may be blocked soon too, and it will have another way around it created just as fast.

In the end, if we weren't so restrictive and diligent with some forms of security, then the Yes And group could do what they believe they need to do without putting their creative energy to just getting access, instead it would be channeled into doing what is needed better.

Kevin