Sherrie’s Learning to Blog!

I really like Chris Lehmann’s (Principal, Science Leadership Academy) thoughts, written in January 2007, about School 2.0, “It’s really not about the computers…. School 2.0 is born out of the idea that active, engaged, constructivist learning will lead to active, engaged students and people. It’s about the pedagogy.”

I asked myself, then, what does this pedagogy look like? Fortunately for me, I found another post by Lehmann dated July 2008, where he addressed this question in a presentation he gave. First, and foremost, we must embrace the notion that students come first. Everything we do must be student centered. It’s ok if we don’t have all the answers, because learning should be inquiry driven and project based. Teachers and students can work side by side to discover the answers. Students must be provided the opportunity to really think about what they are learning. Yes, technology is used to support student learning, but it is “invisible,” simply a means to an end. What we teach must matter, and we must be passionate about it. Just think, we may never hear “why are we learning this,” again!

What 21^st century tools should be used to assist student learning? According to Lehmann, pick the tool that is best suited for the task (researching, collaborating, creating, presenting, and networking). Lehmann has developed a grid where he shares his viewpoint on which Web 2.0 tools are better suited for each of the five mentioned tasks. You can view it here.

Finally, Lehmann ends his presentation by stating that “tools don’t teach, but they can change the way we teach.” Teachers must have a clear picture of “the big idea—why are we teaching this?” Once this question is answered, teachers can select the tools that will best help them get there. It seems to me that while the teacher’s role in the classroom seems to be shifting from lecturer to facilitator, the importance of planning, organizing, and designing individual learning plans is becoming so much more important.

I found Lehmann’s comments thought provoking and well-founded. We really do need to find the tools that will help us achieve our goals, and then go with them. New tools are being developed every day. There is no way we can, or should, incorporate all of them into our instruction. Some tools are better suited for one task over another. We must be familiar with the tools, but be careful not to use them simply because they are available.

I have not used IM in the classroom with students, but I have used it as a communication tool after school hours. I found the use of IM very beneficial to both me and my students. I simply let my students know when I am available for online assistance. If they have questions on their assignments, they can contact me in real time. In most cases, I am working on my computer anyway, and the brief interruptions to answer student questions are very manageable.

There also seems to be benefits to using IM in the classroom. Robert Farmer, Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada, shared several examples of using IM within an educational setting in his publication Instant Messaging – Collaborative Tool or Educator’s nightmare! His suggestions included, “…remote guest speakers, collaborative work groups, class discussions, lectures, mentoring/buddies, library consultations, heightened social presence, and increased collaborative opportunities.” If these uses are to be successful, however, we must not overlook what Wesley Fryer states in his response to The Case for Instant Messaging in the Classroom. “…if they manage it well (which is all about giving the kids engaging tasks to accomplish …) I think it could be VERY powerful for learning.”

It will take more than reading a list of suggestions to make the implementation of IM in the classroom successful. We must be pro-active to help eliminate the perceived problems currently associated with IM. In my opinion, pro-active steps may include, but are not limited to:

1. Take advantage of professional development opportunities – learn to use the technology.
2. Establish a rationale for the use of this technology (learning about or learning with).
3. Network with others. Share successful strategies and activities.
4. Develop engaging learning activities.
5. Establish a technical support system.

As I started to think about the use of YouTube videos as a teaching tool, my initial thoughts were “why wouldn’t I use YouTube as a teaching tool in my classroom?” Now, after reading many of the suggested articles, I guess I feel the same way, but with several reservations.

It is obvious that despite YouTube’s Terms of Use policy, YouTube owners have little control over the content that is being uploaded. With over 83.4 million videos and 79 million users (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube), it is understandable why YouTube content is not being closely monitored.

Certainly the numerous examples of misuse present an abundance of real-life examples of what NOT to do. Many of these examples could be used to illustrate inappropriate uses to our students.

Because of the size of YouTube, I think a video site dedicated to educational uses (like TeacherTube) may be a solution in this case.

In my opinion, I think the advantages of educational blogging outweigh the disadvantages. In a nutshell, it is evident that blogging supports two-way communication between teacher-student, student-student, and student-world, gives all students a voice, integrates current web technologies into the curriculum, provides a platform for creativity and originality….the list goes on and on.

While I do not discount the very real risks of online communication, I have a hard time getting past the fact that if I implement blogs as part of my instruction, they will be an extension of my classroom. Just like all other instructional tools, I will spend time teaching the appropriate use of blogs, share online etiquette rules, and warn of the potential dangers that exist in this open environment. Then, and this is, in my opinion, the most important part, I will be an active participant in the blogs that are used as an educational tool in my classroom. I will also clearly articulate my blogging expectations (acceptable use policy and/or grading rubric). I also recognize that I have no control over what students write in blogs that are not extensions of my classroom. While I can warn of the dangers, and share this information with parents, I cannot take responsibility for blogging activities outside of my control.

I realize that within my classroom blogs, I may encounter students who will see how close to the edge they can get. Some may even cross the line. Before implementing the use of blogs, I think it is necessary to have an acceptable use policy in place that includes clearly defined consequences. Exactly what the acceptable use policy may look like and what the consequences might be are not clear to me at this point.

I believe it is worth my time and effort to figure out the answers to my questions. These are not, however, questions that I can answer by myself. It will be necessary to involve technology coordinators, administrators, parents, and even students as blogging rules and practices are defined for my school.

For additional blogging views, venture over to teachertube: Blogging A Bigger Picture

Let’s see how it works. I copied the code from scribd.com, and embedded it into the html code of this post. Wow! I took the code out already because it slowed things down too much. I’ll have to keep trying.

Inserting a picture into a post is easy (but getting it to align how I want has been a challenge). I’m using this flower as my blog avatar.

Thought I’d give it a try! It took a few attempts, but here it is!
Sample PDF file

The “Blog If You Love Learning!” movie demonstrated how to upload a Word document and link to it from within a post. The process I used was slightly different than the demonstration I watched, but it worked!
Sample Word doc

Navigate to http://k12online.wm.edu/BlogIfYouLoveLearning.mov to see the movie! Takes too long to download if I include the link!

This blog will be used as I learn how to blog while enrolled in the Virtual High School Web 2.0 Collaborative Instruction course.