NETA 07- Day One continued

Tony Vincent’s session, “I Didn’t Know You Could Do That With An IPod” was very well received. Tony always does such a great job of helping educators find new and interesting ways to use technology tools.

Much of his presentation is contained on his website, www.learninginhand.com. Specifically looking for the iPod ideas? Check out his iPods in Education page. Tony has some really great ideas for you!

One other tip Tony shared with the group is the Vixy beta site: www.vixy.net. If you want to convert a YouTube or other similar video to a file you can play on your computer or iPod, you can use this tool to do the work for you. By pasting the embedded video code into the site, you can choose to convert the Flash Video File (FLV– format of most uploaded videos) and change to mp4 for iPod, mov file for Mac, avi for Windows, and 3GP for mobiles.

NETA 07- Day One, Session One

The first poster session I attended today was “Blogs, Vlogs, and the Mad Rush to Web 2.0,” by David Pogue.

With an introduction to Social Media- self-expression via text, audio, video- Pogue asked the audience how many people have ever blogged, podcasted, vlogged, etc. Not many hands went up as bloggers. In fact, when he asked the audience how many people read blogs everyday, my guess is that less than 20 hands were raised (the audience was several hundred). I find this a little disheartening. NETA is an EDUCATION conference. How can we be effectively teaching our students if our teachers/administrators/tech staff aren’t in the know about what’s going on in the world? Blogging is nothing new. Our kids know how to use these tools to communicate, self-express… we don’t have time to play catch up!

Sorry… I digressed a little there. I wonder if David Pogue felt the same way.

He also discussed the amount of garbage that’s out there in Web 2.0, but he was careful to note that there are some really amazing things happening on YouTube and iTunes and the rest. I truly agree. As adults, we can’t discount what people are producing and creating, just because much of it isn’t well-produced, written, or even planned. Yes, a lot of YouTube videos are not worth our time… but several are. Young people are learning and building and creating outside of their educational institutions. Or should I say, in SPITE of their educational institutions. Nobody ever asked a kid to create a YouTube video, and then take a standardized test about creating the video.

Pogue also brought up “Copyright Challenges,” something he touched upon in his keynote earlier in the morning. I was really glad that he discussed how the music industry just isn’t getting it. Suing one’s own customers doesn’t get you far. In fact, I’d say it would do more to lose those customers than to theoretically whip them into shape. There are options that the music industry should consider. When your customers’ demands change, change your business or fail. Duh. Find a way to get those customers back, and make it look different. Funny, I’ve been saying the same thing about education.

Toward the end of his session, Pogue noted that there’s a lot of mistrust on the internet. A lot of corporate sponsorship of blogs, PR blogs, people getting paid to blog/endorse a company or its products, phony profiles or identities passed off as genuine (e.g., lonelygirl15)… it’s hard to know whom to credit as authentic. Additionally, with the anonymity the internet provides, there’s a lot of truly vile content, especially in comments. Pogue said, “anonymity breeds contempt.” People feel safe spewing hatred from behing the curtain. He brought up the Kathy Sierra situation, and mentioned that some have called for a “Blogger Code of Conduct.” Will it happen? Will bloggers be able to self-regulate ? There are many suggestions by a lot of people about how to start addressing this problem.

I’m glad Pogue brought this up, because it’s important. I have posted about the very same issue on another blog. I do wish, however, that he could have mentioned more about the positive aspects of Web 2.0 before ending the session. People who are afraid of “Social Media” will use that as justification to not blog, not podcast, not put themselves out there to communicate with the world. And they definitely don’t want kids in a world like that… even though that’s where the kids already are.

Okay, well… on to the next session. My next post will be about Tony Vincent’s session, “I Didn’t Know You Could Do That With An iPod.” Tony is a former teacher with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working. I’m anxious to see what he’s up to!

Blogging NETA

Today and tomorrow, I’ll be attending the Nebraska Educational Technology Association (NETA) conference. This year, I thought I’d blog about the conference… what I liked, what I wished would have been different, etc.

The most obvious first point is to talk about location, location, LOCATION. If you’re going to have a conference for thousands of people, make sure your venue doesn’t decide to start new construction in the one and only main parking lot. Parking was horrendous this morning.

The Keynote Speaker this morning is David Pogue… very charismatic, great sense of humor. His keynote address, “Five Technologies for the Next Five Years,” started as many tech keynotes do: a history of where we’ve been and then a projection of where we’re going in technology. Sure, it never fails to gather a few laughs when you go back and look at quotes stating that computers are a fad, or the “next new computer will ONLY weigh 1.5 tons.” I’m hoping, however, that we can get past this. Those of us in the technology field hear the same intro to the same keynotes at every conference. Pogue does a good job moving along to Web 2.0, and where we should be headed in that direction. I’m hoping that his next session will go a little more in-depth as to how we can productively use these “new” technologies in education.

Update: I really like Pogue’s presentation style. His effective use of humor keeps the audience engaged. Additionally, he is creative in his delivery, using his own lyrics set to well-known tunes to drive a point home. My personal favorites today were, “I Got YouTube” (“I Got You, Babe”) and “RIAA” (“YMCA”). I’m hoping he’ll post the lyrics on his blog. I’m going to his next session, and I hope it’s even better than the keynote.

March Think-About

It’s been almost a month since I last posted. I know there are only about two of you reading this blog right now, so I should apologize to just you.

What’s concerning me today is what I see… or rather DON’T see… happening in classrooms. There are great educators out there doing great things in their classrooms. We’re having truly meaningful discussions about the tools we use to facilitate communication and gather information. BUT– of course there is a “but”– I don’t think we’re incorporating our discussion topics into the classroom practices. In simpler terms, we’re not changing the way we teach to accommodate what students need to learn.

One example: I still see many teachers use computers as a reward and not an everyday necessity with kids. I hear, “If you finish your classroom assignment, you can then work on the computer.” The students in these types of classrooms don’t see the computer as a tool; they see it as an object where games are played.

Funny, but I’m guessing they don’t view computers at home the same as they do at school…

… which brings me to yet ANOTHER point. In many of my in-services we discuss the Digital Divide, or at least the topics that people associate with the term. Let me set this up–

  • Some teachers have explained to me that they can’t use “technology” in their assignments, because not all students have access to computers at home.
  • Many of these same teachers use computers or other technologies as rewards in the classroom for those students who either finish classwork early or who have done well on particular assignments. In essence, the computer has become an enrichment tool– or on the worst level, a distractor– so that the teacher has time to work with the students who need more help finishing classwork, mastering a topic, etc.
  • When we study which students have computer/internet access at home, we also find that these tend to be the students who finish their classwork on time and are understanding the concepts. It’s not a direct correlation, but the odds are better than average that those who “have” continue to get more time with technology than those who “don’t have.”

By continuing to use classroom technologies as games or rewards, we’re not helping the kids who need help most. If a child has limited or no computer/internet access at home, he or she should be able to learn those digital skills at school. Isn’t that the most natural conclusion? Or are we assuming that these same students need more important skills before focusing on digital literacy? Couldn’t we do both at the same time?

Digital Divide links you might read:

The Digital Divide Network

Digital Divide on Edutopia

Bridge the Digital Divide

Many of the articles and information you’ll find in the above links will focus mainly around the “access” issue. However, it’s not just about limited access. I can donate computers to schools, homes, etc.; but if I don’t provide the “how” and the “why,” those tools aren’t going to help bridge any gap.  Digital literacy skills don’t simply appear on their own. They must be taught.  More on this in my next post…

It’s Not All Garbage to Me

I recently heard a teacher say that the majority of the information on the web is “all garbage;” and therefore, it should not be used as a source for research.
Students don’t buy that. They ask, “Why can’t I use the internet as a source? If the information is out there in multiple sources, including electronic sources, why are you insisting that I use only textbooks and other print materials?”

Those questions are all too commonly asked by many students who are accustomed to having information at their fingertips. One of my kids came home one day to tell me that she could not use any internet sources for her research. Her teacher wanted her to use “more reliable sources,” like textbooks and periodicals.

I’m not knocking the information one can find in a periodical, but what lesson are we teaching students here? Is NOTHING on the internet valid and reliable? And therefore, we shouldn’t use any of it for research/information?

I understand that a lot of teachers are uneasy about the wealth of misinformation that can be found on the web. However, wouldn’t it be a better skill to teach students HOW to find valid and reliable information?

I sometimes hold a class for teachers that explains how to be a good “Internet Sleuth.” We learn about testing sites for accuracy, validity, reliablility, etc. Why can’t we do that with our students?

Interestingly enough, I found another blog post about this very same issue today. Will Richardson over at weblogg-ed.com posted “YouNiversity” yesterday afternoon. He writes about the same frustration:

“The problem, obviously, is not only are we denying students the ability to connect with and use some great resources ‘wherever they can find it,’ we’re also not teaching them the processes that go along with editing those resources for themselves, for making decisions about the content they find.”

And that is the true disservice to our students. Discernment is a very necessary 21st century digital literacy skill. If we continue to point our students to sources that we know are “trustworthy,” how will they ever learn to find their own trustworthy sources?

And please, let’s not continue to assume, or worse yet, tell our students that everything on the web is “garbage.”

February Think-About

Today, while giving an in-service to some really great middle school teachers, I pulled an analogy out of the air… and now I wonder if it painted the picture I wanted.

 I compared MySpace ™ to Elvis.

A lot of adults- educators, parents, or otherwise- hate MySpace (and other sites like it.). They don’t like the potential threat it carries with kids who don’t understand or care about internet-stranger-danger. It is commonly considered a bad influence on the thinking skills of young people. Adults don’t always understand why anyone would want to spend that much time posting and communicating and requesting “friends.” Many adults wish that MySpace would just go away, so that things will go back to the way they were before.

In the mid-1950s, Elvis Presley was all the rage. Girls screamed and cried over him. Boys thought he was the coolest. Some adults even got caught up in Elvis fever. But many adults saw Elvis as a threat. His effect on the minds of young people was dangerous . His singing and dancing was scandalous. Why would anyone want to waste time listening to him? They wished he would just go away, so that things could go back the way they were before.

Elvis didn’t go away just because a lot of adults didn’t like him. Neither will MySpace.  In their respective generations, both have made a significant impact on the lives of young people.

How adults respond to the MySpace issue will also make a significant impact. Are you as an educator going to be the naysayer, the finger-pointer, the accuser of the “evil empire” that is the MySpace generation? Or are you going to open your mind to the possibility that there could be something useful, productive, and… yes, even educational about MySpace?

With the appropriate boundaries, MySpace-and other sites like it- CAN BE a good thing. Let’s do a better job of teaching kids how to use the tools they have appropriately.

Engaging 21st Century Learners

As noted in the previous post, I often work with educators who feel that the things that interest their students (blogging, gaming, IMing, social profiles, etc.) are not worthy of adults’ attention. These students are “wasting” time or “need to get a life.”

Marc Prensky is an educator who has the vision to see past the typical brush-off that most adults give kids today. He’s been added to the blogroll, but please check out these two articles Marc wrote:

“Engage Me or Enrage Me”– Educause
“Today’s kids with computers in their homes sit there with scores of windows open, IMing all their friends. Today’s kids without computers typically have a video game console or a GameBoy. Life for today’s kids may be a lot of things—including stressful— but it’s certainly not unengaging.
Except in school.
And there it is so boring that the kids, used to this other life, just can’t stand it. “

“BackTalk/On Being Disrespected” – in ASCD’s Educational Leadership
“…how do we inject mutual respect—rather than mutual disrespect—into our classrooms? We must foster the important message that each of us, whether adult or kid, teacher or student, is every day a learner in some areas and a teacher in others.”

January “Think-About”

In one of my recent presentations, I asked the questions:

What is so appealing about blogging? Why would a person WANT to blog? What brings readers back to a blog? What would possess a person to post a comment to a blog?

An audience member immediately shouted out, “Because they need to get a life!” But if you are at all familiar with blogging, you know that’s not always true. For every one blogger who never leaves the comfort of his/her ‘cyber lifestyle,’ there are hundreds of bloggers who live very active and productive lives.

So, let’s think about this: what is the draw to blogging? Authentic experiences? A sense of community? Great storytelling?

And the bigger question is: how do we tap into this appeal as educators? Students blogging about assignments, for assignments, etc. are great ideas, but what else is there?

Our “Tech-Savvy” Students aren’t as savvy as we thought

From eSchool News, Justin Appel, Assistant Editor, says,

“Despite the assumption that today’s students are tech-savvy, many fall short in demonstrating the information literacy skills necessary for success in college and the workforce, a new report says. The report comes from an evaluation of responses from students nationwide to an information-literacy assessment tool developed by the nonprofit ETS.” (November 2006)

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=6725