Fascinating International Study

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) wanted to find out the philisophies of Scandinavian countries, whose students have outperformed students from other countries in a recent test of math and science skills.  They learned that educators in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark believe that teacher autonomy, project-based learning, and nationwide broadband Internet access are keys to their success.  I read about this in April 2008 issue of eSchool News. 

These three countries have vastly different philosophies from the USA.  They do NOT have standardized testing, competitive grading, and top-down accountability.  They also have pre-school programs between ages 4 and 7 that stress self-reflection and social behavior, not academic content.  The pre-school programs help students take responsibility for their own learning.  Additionally, the countries have social programs that provide families with support; poverty and extreme wealth do not exist. 

Interesting, isn't it?

Create Free Video Tutorials with Jing

I have been using Camtasia, a TechSmith product, for several years now. I love it...it is easy to use and there are many rendering options. Creating video tutorials does the trick when I am not able to meet with folks face-to-face. Jing is a free screen capture program, also made by TechSmith. It lacks some of the slick editing features of Camtasia, but its simplicity and sharing options make it worth it. A few days ago, a teacher asked for help with grading collaborative projects using the Moodle gradebook. I was unable to meet with the teacher, and writing out the steps would have taken 30 minutes or more. I fired up Jing and created a short video within five minutes. I was able to send a link to the video to this teachers and all the other 8th grade social studies teachers who might also want to know more about the Moodle gradebook.

Jing even offers free server space to upload videos. I highly recommend that all teachers and administrators download and try out Jing this summer!

Reflections on Earthcast08

What an awesome day! To celebrate Earth Day, a group of 10 or so of us from all over the world worked together to pull off 24 hours of non-stop programming over the entire GMT day. The webcasting team came from Canada, Germany, Australia, the UK, Portugal, and the USA. Conversations centered around preserving the Earth. Guests included scientists, environmentalists, business leaders, educators, community members, and students! We recorded the day's events, which will be available soon for those to listen to later.

Participants filled the chat room to ask questions of the hosts and special guests - the live conversations were fun and informative. I was actively involved with about 18 of the hours either by hosting or providing behind-the-scenes support to the person hosting. This was true of the entire Earthcast team. It was the best teamwork I've ever been a part of!

The day was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. The pass-offs at the hour mark when webcasters passed the streaming to someone else in another part of the world were times when everyone came together - checking the sound, offering suggestions, and encouraging each other.

Student voices were heard from all over the world about important environmental matters. They were poised and proud to be broadcasting to a worldwide audience and they were invested in the subject. Their teachers report that they want to know when they can do something like this again.

I felt a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. I streamed both audio and video from my laptop for the first time and I didn't mess it up. I enjoyed sharing the 6th grade blogging project done by April Warren and her students, and talking with Sue Hellman and her students about a video they created for Earth Day. I also interviewed Chris Clonen, the Project Manager of General Motors' Education website and loved the conversation and learning about hybrid vehicles, fuel cells, no waste manufacturing plants, and more.  Click here for archived audio of the interview.

This one one of the highlights of my entire career and I look forward to future similar experiences. The possibilities are endless!

Thanks to the entire Earthcast team and everyone who participated! This event would not have been possible without the support of WorldBridges and EdTechTalk.

Earthcast08 Has Begun!

Random Thoughts After Power Up! Conference

Oakland Schools (county in SE Michigan) hosted a technology conference today.  The opening keynoter was Lee Rainie from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.  His presentation was a timeline of when new technologies were introduced.  He eventually got to web 2.0 resources.  His presentation fit the need of the audience.   There were only four people who knew what Twitter was, and only a few that had heard of del.icio.us, to name a few of the tools that were mentioned.  A few people from my district asked me about some of what was mentioned in the keynote, so that was good! 

This is a cool story:  A teacher from my district (the wonderful John Shaw) presented about a blogging project he did with 4th graders using Blogmeister, see handout.  He showed how easy it is to embed Flickr slideshows and audio recordings.  His student teacher was there, too.  She did not have an active role in the presentation, but she chimed in with a few thoughts here and there.  After the session, a curriculum director from a local district approached her and told her that they had two teaching positions available and told her to apply, telling her that she wanted to hire teachers that did these kinds of projects.  Hooray!

I presented in teh afternoon about an 8th grade Social Studies unit that is taught using Moodle.  All of our 8th graders will be involved, as this is used as a performance assessment for technology literacy.  It was fun to share about the development of the curriculum and the teacher professional development. 

At the end of the day, Julie Evans of Project Tomorrow shared the results from the nation-wide Speak Up data, as well as specific results for Oakland County.  The results are included in her PowerPoint presentation.  "The students want to be productive in school, and want to have access to their devices... their laptop, mp3 player, Smartphones, and PDAs!"

Bruce Umpstead gave an overview of the state of Michigan's use of technology.  He did a great job of highlighting the key points and his philosophy matches mine!  He will be the keynoter for Walled Lake's Spice it Up Conference on August 26, and his message would be perfect for our administrators and teachers.

Planning for 22nd Century Learning

I spent the afternoon with a great group of folks discussing & planning steps to help administrators be the kinds of leaders required to transform our schools into 22nd century places of learning... meaning we must plan for the future.  I wish I remember who said that at the meeting, but I really like the phrase "22nd century learning" much better than "21st century learning," a popular phrase that I believe has become overused.  If we are planning for 21st century learning, we're already too late.

Meetings I attend outside of my school district tend to be with people like me - people who work on instructional uses of technology.  Our ideas and beliefs are shared for the most part.  The meeting today was with a group of administrators (superintendents, principals, curriculum directors, etc) who come from diverse backgrounds .  I enjoyed hearing their perspectives and ideas -  it was fun to discuss educational technology with people who have such different job responsibilities from mine.  The lingo was a bit different from what I am used to, but we all are interested in changing the learning culture of schools and are striving for the same goals.

The discussion was rich as we talked about the "formula" for the development of the kind of administrative leadership that fosters student use of technology as a true learning tool.  What makes some administrators passionate about the topic?  How can students be added to this discussion?  How can we encourage the natural learning that takes place informally in homes to continue at school?   Should teacher evaluation have a technology component?  How can we best share ideas and network with others about this topic?  What are the routines and practices of our best technology-using schools?  Of course, there are many more questions than answers, but I am pleased to be a part of the discussion and planning process.

Also, a phrase I heard for the first time was "generative leadership."  ...I plan to learn more about what that means.

Earth Day 24-hour Webcastathon, April 22, 2008

 

What kind of Earth will your grandchildren's grandchildren grow up in?

 Act Locally; Share Globally! Come join the 24-hour long conversation about the health of our planet.  Participants will be from around the world. Special guests include local leaders, student environmental advocates, scientists, engineers, and people like you who are interested in helping to make the world safe and healthy for future generations.  Participation can occur anywhere there is an Internet connection!  There are three Ways to Participate:

1. Listen to the live show at http://www.webcastacademy.net/live.  There are several ways to listen to the audio:  iTunes, Windows Media, Real Player, and Ustream.  Select the option that works best for your computer system.  Use the chat room to ask questions or communicate ideas to the special guests.  See tentative schedule on the attached flyer.


2. Create your own video or audio that can be played during the webcastathon.  Share how you and your students are making a difference in your own community or any thoughts and ideas that you have about environmental issues.  Upload videos to youtube, teachertube, your blog or website.  Tag all content with earthcast08.  If you need help with the uploading or tagging process, contact Pam by leaving a comment. 


3. Add an an audio, video, or text comment to the EarthDay Webcastathon VoiceThread at  http://enviroscims.wikispaces.com/earthcast08+VoiceThread    

Please help spread the word!  Distribute this flyer to all your contacts who may be interested: 

webcastathonflyer.pdf