Thing 8 - Educational Wikis

In education, communicating with parents, students and staff members can be a huge obstacle. Creating and sharing a Wiki is a great way to over come the communication divide. As an AP, I see this tool as being a resource to share campus information with my peers and co-workers. Also, it is such a collaborative tool that is inviting for users with limited or experienced skill sets. I do see how a wiki can be a powerful "voice" and hope to implement one in the fall 2011 school year.

After reading different available Wikis, and there are several to choose from, I did find that some are better than others. With that being said, I mean it only as a response that some are just better suited for my needs. I loved the collaborative approach used in the classrooms where the teacher acts as the facilitator and students are the authors. Placing the Wiki creation in the hands of the students is the greatest application piece. Also, seeing/reading student responses creates a "risk free" opportunity for everybody to participate and share their ideas.

The Kindergarten Counting Book is a great example of the youngest of our learners. As a teacher, I see this particular creation as a way for students to show their knowledge of basic counting skills.

Discovery Utopia Project may very well be one of my favorite examples of a organized wiki. Particularly, I like that the goals are expressed on the home page and then the readers are encouraged to view the projects and respond accordingly. Plus, the nature of the questions are open ended and require the participants to think critically about very global questions. What a great way to determine what the students are thinking about their society and their personal views!!!

Grazing for Digital Natives - this particular site confused me at first. Based on the concept, I was expecting easier navigation pointing me to particular resources. In fact, the available information is readily available. Yet, even as an experienced user, I find this site a bit confusing. I guess it just takes more time for me to figure out what I want and find the information. In particular, I might organize it a little different. I hate to sound so critical as it is clear the author is well versed in Wikis and I am still learning.

Final Thoughts: This sums up the usefulness of Wikis best!

"Wikis encourage shared knowledge construction, as they are often built and edited by many users at once. Teachers and students can use wikis for publishing, organizing, and sharing virtually any kind of information – professional, creative or academic. Wikis are democratic tools that, implemented effectively, can enable students to take responsibility for learning outcomes, plan and make decisions, work together, publish to an audience beyond the classroom and, perhaps most importantly, teach others."

Thing 7

In my opinion, digital learning, distance learning, social networking, blogging, moodling and the such only become relevant when folks actively participate in live chats, discussion boards and posting comments. Commenting is fundamental part of becoming a live participant in this cyber-world.

The nice thing about blogger is that posting comments is very user friendly. I have found it easy to post comments and have been successful in navigating the "blogger" site. As a green blogger, this experience has been quite enjoyable and successful.

I really appreciated Drake's Takes about commenting. He validates what folks think commenting and encourages others to do so. Yet, he also makes it clear that some acknowledgment to posting comments is recommended.

Thing 6

How Technology Will Destroy Our Future

This was the best article I ran across....written by a fellow educator and from what I can infer, a life-long learner committed to education. His thoughts are .... "The truth is, technology isn’t going to destroy our future, it’s just destroying the past, or rather the notion of what used to be “good” teaching."

My experience with the reader has been great! I am very embarrassed to say that I didn't know that RSS meant Really Simple Syndication....and, it is - really simple! I added quite a few blog sites and I am enjoying the daily updates. What I like most about the reader is that I can skim, find the articles that interest me most and read whatever is most interesting to me.

Now...how to get this kind of information into the hands of my teachers...??? I think I will first start by trying to create an RSS feed from their blog sites. Cool!

Thing 5

Teachers gain professional development resource

http://www.google.com/educators/gta.html

Atomic Learning announces its partnership with the Google™ Certified Teacher Academy for Educators and Administrators.

Google Certified Teachers, a select group of 50 teachers each year, are provided with one year of access to Atomic Learning ’s 21st Century Skills and Tech Integration. They will have access to Atomic Learning training, including tutorials on Chrome and SketchUp for educators, classroom projects using Google Earth, and more.

I am SO EXCITED about this development! As a long time user of Atomic Learning I can only imagine the endless possibilities for teacher staff development and on the go answers to applications. It is very possible that I might even venture out to complete the academy.....well, maybe after I complete my first #23 things.

Google blows my mind by always being so innovative and taking their browser to the next level. What do they call google-followers anyway? If there is a name for it then it certainly applies to me!

Thing 4

There are 2 particular blogs that stand out for me.

Mark's EdTech Blog is fabulous reading. His premise is that the usual SSR time can now be differentiated and made new again by turing SSR time into computer reading time. Mark uses educational blogs and student's read what their peers have written. What an awesome idea! I would love to see teachers on my campus take advantage of available classroom blogs to learn and share ideas!

The second blog that I found intriguing is An Open Letter About Cyberbullying.

Kuddos to Andi Carvin! I believe he expresses the heartfelt intent of every teacher to stop bullying - especially cyberbullying. Andi is a social networking expert, and this particular blog is a response to a writer of Wired Magazine. Read it, Read it, Read it! I found this blog to most relevant to me since I deal with kids that do bully. And, having another adult express his concerns gives me the courage to continue standing up for the underdog and doing what is right and in most cases very necessary.

Thing 2

At first glance, there is no denying that web2.0 has value. Any teacher, with 1 year under her belt or 30 can perceive that the digital age has arrived and our digital native learners require us to use available technologies to enhance the curriculum. As a district, most of our elementary classrooms are outfitted with interactive white boards, Neo Keyboards, document cameras, video projectors, teacher computers equipped with Internet access, DVD players and media players. Even still, there are numerous laptops available and iPods are becoming a norm to enhance learning and productivity. Professionally, most of these tools have made my time more efficient. Yet, there is still so much to learn. My biggest obstacle is finding the time to fully utilize the tools to mentor my teachers so that they may also feel comfortable enough to use them.

Thing #1

Did you know, there are 7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners?

• Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind
• Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning
• Habit 3: View problems as challenges
• Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
• Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
• Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
• Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
• Habit 7 ½: Play

While educators strive to incorporate these habits into our daily lives, it is no surprise that life and all of its complications make implementing these habits into the daily routine difficult at best. Yet, consider the possibilities if on your next opportunity for growth or learning, you did follow the recipe as outlined above. The possibilities for maximizing your potential increases exponentially. And, those are odds of encouragement that every educator desperately needs!

My most challenging habit, or at least, I hope it becomes a habit, is to begin with the end in mind. For the most part, I can have an idea of what I think I want. And yet, getting there seems to always change the outcome and it is quite usually something different than what I thought I would end up creating. I suppose that is a natural progression for learners. Or, perhaps it is just not always knowing exactly what it is I do want. A challenge for me will be creating the idea and following a plan! I tend to fly by the seat of my pants too often.

Naturally, the ying to my yang....the easiest piece to this puzzle will be my ability to Play!!! Hey...You don't get a blog with a name like Patio Perspective and not anticipate that the owner loves to play! Yet, I am usually quite responsible so I will have no problem owning my own learning. Likewise, asking for help has never been an issue....I am plagued with a questioning mind and mouth. Facilitators beware!!!

The most important habits for me to work through will be to view my problems as challenges and teach/mentor others. Since time is such an issue for most of us, I don't care for problems/challenges because I am often pressed for time. I just need to get it done....kinda like thing 3 - 23. :-) Again, teaching and mentoring others in regards to best practices and uses of technology integration is difficult because of lack of time. Perhaps a blog will create time that I didn't know that I had and I will learn from others. That is definitely a goal of mine throughout this class!