Global Community?

NCTE's 21st Century Framework is my GPS for moving my students into the 21st Century, but the component of sharing with a global community is one that my colleagues and I in our district are trying to achieve, while working within the confinds of our out-dated technology policy.  Most of our student work needs to be password-protected and not shared with the outside world.  I have even had a parent concern about placing work on our school's intranet, so for me this issue is one dear to my heart.

Listening to Tim Tyson at the Dublin Lit Conference, I was convicted that I need to find global avenues for my students to share.  His students work, if  the qualifications were met, was posted for a global audience.  The students internalized his message, and he found global avenues for them to share.  After a few days of marinating on the issue while sitting through hours of  painful national testing for fourth graders, I thought of some ideas:

1.  Jeni's Ice Cream came and spoke about it's business practices as a tip-off for economics.  We wrote thank you letters to the speakers when one of my treasures said, "Mrs. Archer, are they really going to read them?"  Ouch...everything we do must have an audience and purpose.  Yes, I copied their letter on colored paper and sent them the next day.  Future ideas:  taste-testing 4 flavors and writing reviews to send to Jeni's. (thanks, Ann Marie Corgill)  It may not be global, but the audience is in our small part of Columbus. 

2.  My brief  Freedom on the Menu  read aloud blossomed into a month-long study of those who made change.  A seed was planted and through other picture books, mostly fiction, we'll tackle how my treasures can make a difference, big or small in a little piece of  their world.  Through painting, videos, photography,and more, my treasures will be creating a class video on making change.  My thought is to burn dvd's and send them out, but I've got to tackle the parent/district paremeters first.  Any other ideas?
Change the World in 5 Minutes a Day At School gave me the inspiration! (Next on my learning continuum, learning how to embed youtube videos!)

Sharing with a global community is the one facet that is limiting my treasures.  Like Tony at Learn Me Sumthin' has posted, we need to move forward, even if our hand is slapped!  It's easier to ask forgiveness, than permisson!

Kevin's Meadering Mind Podcast

Kevin's Powerful Meadering Mind:  I didn't get a chance to see Kevin Hodgson because I was in other sessions, but Tony from Learn Me Sumthin and Mary from Teaching in the Tech Frontier raved about his Meadering Mind.  Mine has been working in overdrive since the conference and I flipped over to his blog tonight and listened to his podcast reflection on Tim Tyson's technology movement in his school.  I'm posting the link    (scroll to Feb. 22) because I cannot do it justice...all I can say is WOW and AMEN!!  For those of you wanting to move faster and farther than districts will "allow", Kevin shares what it took for Tim Tyson to go up against district and technology administrators and get most of his teachers blogging weekly.
It's a must "hear" podcast for teachers, administrators, and district officials.
Enjoy!  I'd like to hear your thoughts.

IWEB WONDER: Part Deux

These past few weeks, my treasures have been working diligently creating their Iweb portfolios.  They've been adding pages, graphics, and text to make this project completely personalized.  Some have created movies where they've read their own writing.  Others learned how to import documents they've created from other applications.  There are some drawbacks, but it's something that is working for my students.  All in all, it's been a learning experience for everyone, including myself.

I am grateful for our tech specialist.  She is truly a gem and I am thankful for all her help and guidance.  I can throw out an idea and she knows how to get it from my head to their computers.  I wanted their portfolios published to the intranet and linked to mine so that I could share them at parent- teacher conferences last evening.  By 3pm, we were good to go.  Thank you, Laura.

I projected their iwebs onto the smart board for each conference.  My favorite moments were watching the parents' eyes light up as they read about their child and what they had created.  They were able to see a "Books They've Read" page, science experiment reflections, writings, and more.  I shared the process, purpose, and evaluation tools of the project.  I shared how we'll burn this to a dvd at the end of the year.  I shared how I'm going to use this from here on out.  All the parents were excited about this project.

However, some concerns were brought to my attention about the security and safety of children during one meeting and together we found some alternative ways for the child to continue.  Since then, I've been doing some heavy thinking in the last 24 hours.

First, this new 21st Century world is scary and unknown for those who grew up in the 20th Century.  The "what could possibly happen" in the online world, whether INTRANET or INTERNET, is a valid concern for parents that cannot be discounted by educators.  If we want to be 21st Century thinkers, we also need to be prepared to find some alternatives that would serve the same purpose if parents are uncomfortable with some of our projects.

Second, I need to learn and move at the speed that works for my needs and comfort level. Lately, I've felt so inadequate with my Smartboard knowledge and other online learning tools.  BUT,  I am doing something that will move my students to 21st Century thinking.  I may not be doing everything out there, but I am doing something.

Lastly, TRY.  Some ideas may work for you, and some may not.  But, be willing, open, and flexible to try.  It's what we'd want our students to do.

21st Century Class Reunion

Last weekend, we went to our hometown for my husband's high school reunion. What fascinated me was how 21st Century literacies have evolved that the 2oth Century is taking hold of them.

1. Facebook Organization
The organizer began in January with a page on Facebook and began hunting down classmates via the internet. All communication was on the web except we needed to mail in a check by the postal service. RSVP's, questions, dates, and agendas were online-based. Out of a class of 200, there were 90 classmates plus spouses for the dinner. Amazing how communication has changed.

2. Video Clips
One student video-taped his entire last day and projected it on the screen. Can you imagine how big and bulky video cameras were in the 80's? It was fun to see hairstyles, clothes, and the old high school through the eyes of a student. Everyone was mesmerized for over 30 minutes trying to identify classmates on the grainy clips. Our children now use a Flip Camera the size of your palm and can upload to the internet with a few clicks. My own children are constantly asking to use the "video-taper" as they call it, around the house.

3. Cameras
I only saw 3 cameras in the room. Everyone was sharing photos and taking pics with their cell phones. The next morning, reunion pics were posted on Facebook and comments about their evening flew fast off their fingers. So, I'm beginning to see the connectivity of Facebook, as opposed to Twitter (my personal fav).

Now, if the 20th Century is taking hold of technology usage when it was not around then, what will the 21st Century students take with them to their reunions?

Early Computer Literacy

"Readers Are Leaders!" That's the motto that can be heard around our house as I share with my children the passion for reading. Today, my son, who will be in kindergarten, was reading this book in his room. He is already very computer literate, even more so than my daughter. He can navigate to websites he has visited and maneuver around the site to where he wants go and read. Coming down the stairs he said, "Mom, can I go to this website on the back of the book?" www.Alphakidz.com I bought the book a few years back because it was his name, and did not even realize it had a website.

I asked him how he knew that the book had a website and here's his answer, "Mom, it had a www. and a .com on the end." I was amazed that he is already recognizing environmental computer print in his daily life. The education that he will have will be so different than mine, but better. He was born in a different time. Between flip video cameras, internet literacy, and using Google as a verb and noun, his learning opportunities will always be evolving as new software, gadgets, and technology will be coming out in the 21st Century. Soon, he will be guiding me into his learning world. For now, I'm going to enjoy the "Mom knows a lot" phase. It won't last long!