I am trying to show our teachers how these blogs can be a global learning community as well.

Thank your-Enjoyed your site!
Ryan Osweiler

So often the computer classes give us so much information and provide the sites, ideas and samples of how we can use technology, and I am always in awe of what I can do! But after the class ends I tend not to go back to all my notes and actually implement the activities.

I know I will use VoiceThread because I feel like an expert at it! And with actually having to make a blog and use it all week I am confident that it will be my next adventure.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Please think seriously about coming in to “play” with my Smartboard. There are so many tools and neat things that it can be used for that I am still learning.

I agree they are very expensive and I feel lucky to have it. It is also a large TV screen. Last year “my dads” were trying to convince me that we should have a Super Bowl party in the classroom.

If you find the videos inspirational I would be curious if any of them trigger an, “Aha!” about something you see that you could do in your own setting.

If you were to work on translating a practice you see or admire into something you could plan to do that would be a worthy project for this course.
Cathy

This article describes all the ways that most of us use technology as doing old things in old ways. We may pass documents around in electronic forms but the result is still not that different from what we have done in the past. We may be maintaining assessments and records online but for the most part what we are doing has not changed. Prensky categorizes writing, creating, submitting, and sharing work on computer or instant messaging as doing old things. He describes it as “communicating and exchanging” in old ways “passing stuff around”. I am not sure I agree…just given the vast amount of communicating we can do and how small it has made the world seems all new to me.

To move to “Doing Old Things in an Old Way” we must understand and accept that virtual relationship are just as real and important as face-to-face relationships. We must not ban cell phones and Wikipedia in our schools. Most of all we must not let pressure from from parents and high stakes testing prevent us from experimenting and trusting our kids.

We can all move forward by consulting our students. I loved Preskky’s statement, “…..combine what they know about technology with what we know and require about education.”

The first two articles I read were closely related in ideas.

“The Key Learning Community” was about a school in Indianapolis that emphases teaching through exploration and deep understanding over rote learning. Their school is designed to follow Howard Gardner’s thoreoy and teach each child in their multi intelligence strength. The K-12 classes spend equal time in all academic subjects. Each student is expected to produce a project with a presentation which is videoed starting in kindergarten and develop a digital portfolio for their college applications. These students also are required to take standardized test, and they perform as well as other students in their system do. But after the testing everyone goes back to teaching and learning the way they believe is best.

“Pursuing Passions After School” described another way that a school system is meeting the needs of the students who are disengaged in learning during the regular school day. This program started as a summer arts program and has extended to an after school program. Students can participate in activities to pursue their passions. Some receive a modest stipend and all are getting a real world experience in an area of their choice whether it is visual arts, performing arts or culinary. These are the intelligences that get missed in our school day providing a real “purpose” for some students’ education.

“Mary Scroggs Elementary School” was about a school in Oakland, CA that meshes tech tools to facilitate everything they do beginning with the whole school morning news broadcast. Every classroom has 4-5 computers and every child is able to log on from any place in the building. There is a high expectation that all students will be online every night to do their assignments and communicate with the class/teacher. Parents are thrilled with the close connection they have with their child’s teacher through emails. This educational environment was very positive and everyone was computer literate. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all schools were like Mary Scroggs

Kindergarten students engage in authentic life-long learning experiences through PBL projects. The students initially establish the theme and the teachers direct their learning through multiple curriculum disciplines. This method motivates and engages the students and doesn’t become an arbitrary learning experience.

http://www.edutopia.org/online-learning-video

Video 2: Online Learning

This video describes how the internet opens up a new world to high school students. Schools are offering students the ability to participate in a virtual classroom 24/7. The teachers are able to interact with them over the phone, online, or face-to-face. This method provides a solution for those schools that do not have enough qualified teachers to be able to teacher a wide range of offerings or for student that engages in activities that sets them outside of the traditional school environment.

http://www.edutopia.org/online-learning-video

Video 3: A New Day for Learning

Schools are using a fresh approach for student learning by offering before and after school programs taught by community businesses and volunteers. Community members are becoming more active in helping students learn through an alternative instruction rather than traditional classroom instruction by involving students in various interests.

http://www.edutopia.org/new-day-learning

In General:

Education is moving toward authentic learning opportunities for students, which ultimately prepares them for real world interactions. With a clear vision, schools are able to offer creative instructional learning initiatives and design a new learning system for all students.

Video 1 – Around the Clock Learning – http://www.edutopia.org/around-clock-learning-spry-community-school In Scarborough we are fortunate to have our elementary, middle, and high schools in close proximity to one another. This video talked about the high school students tutoring the elementary students, among other ideas. There have been many occasions when my class has been invited to do a project with a middle school or high school class. Being able to walk to the other schools has allowed us the luxury of working together without having to schedule a bus. I find that everyone gains from this interaction. This video also mentions that the high school students do not attend school until 11:00 each day and go until 7:00 in the evening something that has been mentioned in different districts around Maine.

Video 2 – Effective Technology – http://www.edutopia.org/effective-technology This K-4 school demonstrates the ease of integrating technology into the day to day workings of a school, both with students and as a staff development tool. The principal uses e-mail as a means to interact with staff instead of saving all the information for staff meetings. Scarborough uses the S-web (Scarborough internal web) for many of the same interactions. The S-web is set up both by individual schools and as a school wide web. I would agree that using technology effectively is a time saver. You can post information to ensure that everyone gets the same message and then use staff meetings and staff development time for the bigger issues. This principal of the school and also staff members spoke about the positive aspects of integrating technology into their daily lives.

Video 3 – Leading with Laptops – http://www.edutopia.org/leading-laptops I found this site interesting as it is on the Maine laptop initiative. This site could certainly be shared with parents who are not aware of what the middle schools are doing. It certainly gives testimony about the successes of the program. I would like to share this video with the 5th graders at my school and their families before they leave the elementary school and go on the middle school.

I liked the other two, found in the assessment file, much more. “High Expectations” showed a school that had many features I wish we had in my school, including time for grade level teachers to meet each week for two hours to make plans together. “The Key Learning Community” in Indianapolis is a school that is based on multiple intelligences. They have a very complicated report card which rates the children in each area with an unusual rubric. I’m going to go back to these videos to learn more about their programs.