Technology Delights, Discoveries, and Disasters

(Delight) I was connecting with my personal learning network on  twitter, which led me to a blog http://www.ncs-tech.org/?p=1414, which shared a youtube video that made me think.  Which led me to write this post.  WARNING:  When using the internet, often times- one thing leads to another.   
At first, i thought- WOW this is so on target with why education must change for our 21st Century learners- i must use this in my staff presentation on the 25th of August. But, when I listened to it a second time something happened.  I realized that I started a journey up the “new” Blooms Taxonomy pyramid.  First, I remembered the website, name of the video (Learning to Change, Changing to Learn), and it’s main developer (coSN).  Then, I decided to share what I understood about the article in this blog post.  Next, I started questioning and thinking about the different points of view. I felt the need to analyze and compare/contrast these opinions with my own.   I started taking the video apart in my mind- evaluating and judging the information/opinions.   I agreed very strongly with so much of it, but a few parts I found dismal and somewhat untrue.  Now, i want to discuss it and connect with others to see what they got out of it- both pros and cons. Perhaps i need to start a blog club and model it after a book club.  
(Discovery)This is an example of a journey I would love for my students to take when learning!
Well, here is the video “Learning to Change, Changing to Learn”-

My take on the video:

 (Disaster)

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(Delight) “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”- Bill Gates
All of us, in the world of educational technology, are leaders as we empower our peers, administrators, teachers, and students.  With that leadership comes HUGE responsibility. Where am I with that responsibility?  I am where 21st Century meets blank faces and blank stares. 
I’ve been planning Trantwood 2.0 for about 5 months now.  I must persuade and “sell” our entire school’s new approach to technology utilization.  Our program structure will not be the same as it has been in years past.  We will now focus on creative thinking/problem solving, connecting/sharing with others in and outside our school, communicating, and collaborating.  This change will bring all of us out of our computer lab comfort zone.  No more excuses.  I’ve worked so hard this past year to explore and utiize web2.0 apps like  never before- I’ve  twittered, vokied, wikied, ninged, blogged, podcasted, video conferenced, voicethreaded, google sketch upped, igoogled, google earthed, tagged, rss’d,  Aliced, Scratched, webinarred, youtubed, ustreamed, edtechtalked, and much more (pls excuse the creative spelling).  What’s amazing about this is not the length of the list, but that i just started using this stuff LESS than a year ago! I committed to learning and using new Web2.0 apps and now i’m feeling more than ready to share my excitement! I tried them out on my computer club kids, small groups of students, and with several teacher power users and their classes.  It’s time now to go whole school, no more old school.  In general, changes on this scale are exciting and thrilling, but scary…kinda like the Griffon rollercoaster at Busch Gardens that i’m proud to say i rode on this week.  We will experience sudden twists and turns, as well as an occasional steep drop (perahps off of our new wireless network).  I’ll be taking the next few weeks to work on my presentation of “Trantwood 2.0″ for our staff professional development at the end of August.  I have about 1.5 hours to motivate, convince, encourage, and beg our faculty and staff to join me on this wild ride. 
(Delight) “Technology is just a tool.  In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.”- Bill Gates

(Discovery) Here is a great map a twitter friend posted today- http://www.appappeal.com/web-2-0-application-world-mosaic/ containing 1001 web2.0 apps.  Just when i thought i had web2.0 down, they shared 900 more!  (Both a pro and a con with web2.0!)

In my previous post, i asked “Who’s on What?”.  My question for this one is “Where are you?”
(Discovery) My friend, JaneneG recently sent me this link to a quiz that reveals where you are technologically- http://www.pewinternet.org/quiz/quiz.asp 
Here is a link to my results- http://www.pewinternet.org/quiz/results.asp?c=0  Pretty cool!!!

(Discovery)Also, decide where you are on this 21st Century teaching and learning continuum and think about what steps are needed to get to the next level.

I’m guessing i’m about 3.5

Technology Delights, Discoveries, and Disasters w/SheilaT

~ Sheila Teri

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(Delight) I just can’t get enough of learning new technology. Almost everytime i log into twitter i’m learning something new and want to try it out right then and there.  I don’t get it when people “Don’t Get” twitter.  Like Pavlov’s dog, my mouth starts to water and i dive right into to a new tool, blog, wiki, virtual world, or methodology.  It’s an exciting time!! I wonder how many others feel the same way.  I also wonder about how I can share all this cool stuff with other Computer Resource Specialists in our school system. 
(Discovery)  I had an idea to create a wiki to organize our new learning and to encourage others (and myself) to try new things.  Yesterday @javarich posted a math wiki created by Ken G. using http://www.wetpaint.com/.  My mouth started to water, my mind started to rev up, and my idea was born- Why not create a wiki to share all of this new digital learning? 
(Discovery) I created this - http://vbcpscrs.wetpaint.com/  Virginia Beach CRS (& Friends) Who’s on What? wiki.  I worked on this for the best part of an entire day.  If you want the day to fly by, just embark on a new online project!  Wow, did i wear my PJs all day?  (did i just admit that?)  So, right now I’m the only member of this wiki.  I hope others will join in and share… or will this be a Disaster?  I wonder if my wiki will make it.  I’m thinking that a wiki is like a new restaurant- some make it and most don’t.  Gotta wait and see.  Together we can make it a great resource!
My take on http://www.wetpaint.com/ wikis:
-Very, very, very easy and user friendly to set up
-Voki widget easy to embed
-Tables easier than wikispaces (just right click in table to modify)
-Not sure if I like the More Tools>”add attachment” feature for uploading docs, they show up all the way at the bottom
-Not a fan of the abundance of advertisement on margins

Technology Delights, Discoveries, and Disasters w/SheilaT

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(Delight) The mixtape above is for your listening pleasure as you read this post-  It’s 4th of July and a very proud day for many reasons.  It’s also (tech) Leadership Day 2008 for many educational bloggers out there.  
We are getting closer and closer to big changes in how our students are provided with thinking and learning opportunities.  We have made amazing progress toward recognizing 21st Century Skills that we think will be needed for future jobs that don’t even exist today.  We do know that creative thinking, communicating, and collaborating are among the key components of success.  We need the continued support and leadership to make the shift needed for new curriculum, assessment techniques, and supplies needed for our 21st Century learners.  If you think about it like a car with 5 gears, I would say we have only shifted into 2nd gear at this time, still let’s recognize that we are moving  in the right direction! 
I recently bumped into a former student and her parents at our local Relay for Life celebration.  She had just completed her first year of college.  Her parents asked if I was “still teaching”.  (I get this question quite often and I just don’t know why.)  They asked it as if I have been doing the same old thing in our computer lab since their daughter left our elementary school.  I was so proud let them know that YES I was still teaching, but told them about the school blog, podcasting, video conferencing with others near and far, google apps, voicethread, and other web 2.0 tools we are using.  (Discovery)They were shocked and amazed at my response and to be honest so was I.  Until I put it all together, I realized that however small my steps are, I am making a difference with our students.  With the help of school leaders, we can perhaps get into more powerful gears even sooner!
(Discovery) I remember making “mix tapes” for special occasions growing up in the 80s.  I recently stumbled upon www.mixwit.com that can do the same thing in a wonderful web2.0 way.  Here is a mix tape for school leaders to deal with the change needed to help our students succeed in our creative, connected, digital world-
http://www.mixwit.com/sheila_teri/mixing-it-up-for-21st-century-c 
(Disaster) I tried to embed the code for my mix tape and it didn’t work, so i posted this link instead.  I will work on this later and try again.  That’s technology sometimes!)
*Update July 6th - Yeah, i got it to work!  I just embedded the code at the top instead of here at the end.

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To my PDP group,
Congratulations for creating your first Edublog today!  I hope you will find it as an exciting addition to your teaching.  You will see the excitement when your students share and connnect with world through your classroom blog. 

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