Mediated Culture, Memes, Portland and Open Education

"There is no opting out of new media…. it changes a society as a whole…. media mediates relationships…. the whole structure of society can change…. we are on a razor’s edge between hopeful possibilities and more ominous futures…."

 Dr. Michael Wesch (Cultural Anthropologist)

This weeks announcement by Portland Public School's that they are going to *try* to block social media sites on student laptop computers has caused an uproar and outpouring of rebuke from educators around the state of Maine.  Events in Portland had a strange co-incidence with an issue at WHS this week.  At WHS the Web 2.0 foundations course and Mrs. Bell's history course are working to contextualize an issue that caused blocking to occur in our one to one laptop program Tuesday.  Unlike the Portland situation, we do not have an endemic issue with inappropriate sites that has caused alarm, but we did fall prey to a viral social media site that posed a threat to some young people and the school by exhibiting racist, sexist, and threatening sentiments.  It is the goal of WHS to responsibly seek more freedoms for young people and the internet and not less.  How we as a learning community approach this topic will define much about learning at WHS in the future.  This is an issue for adults and young people to work on together.

Here are some recent articles forwarded to me that I think make good points about social media in schools and open educational policies toward the internet:

 The Case for Social Media in Schools: http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/

What are the costs of blocking social media: http://mashable.com/2010/04/13/social-media-ban-backfire/


Right now Web 2.0 Foundations course members are deliberating appropriate use of technology for learning and living in the 21st century. Using Twitter, Canvas LMS discussion forums and the hour we meet at the school, the seminar was initiated to discuss the recent incidence of harassment that caused a site to be blocked on their machines.  Our first days seminar went well with a respectful exchange of ideas and cultural norms expressed.  According to one participant who wants to be a diesel mechanic, having machines at school at all makes no sense if he has to use them for traditional subject matter.  He wants to do the least amount of work that does not apply to his life aspirations as possible.  Conversely young people who love the arts, and engineering spoke forcefully for having there machines as they opened the world up to them and allowed them to research without boundaries what they found fascinating! I will post more on our deliberations in the future.

In the history department, Mrs. Bell offered a project on memes in history that built of the phenomenon and interests of young people and led to amazing discussions on what makes a meme:

A good or effective meme is
- historicallly accurate
- clear
- clever
- references 'then' and 'now'
- is grammatically correct

A weak or ineffective meme is
- offensive
- unclear
- T.M.I (too much information)
- uses an unrelated image
- inaccurate

Together our learning community is having  a discussion about society, media and the future of education.  Adults are listening to young people while providing a safe environment for deliberation and learning. Young people are speaking up about their futures, freedoms, and learning.  Not always an easy exchange....but an essential one.  Keep talking.

Join to conversation by leaving a comment to this post or having a conversation with someone.  Let us know your thoughts.

WHS May Professional Development Series

Learning in a Networked World  Add to Planner

Wednesday, 5/9/2011 2:30pm-3:30pm (CHANGED) Where:                    Mac Lab Prerequisites: Connection to the Internet/MLTI Laptop Theme: Digital-age Teaching & Learning online—Literacies for the Information/Creativity Age Audience: Admin, Teachers, iTeam and interested students Skill: Beginner to Advanced NETS•S: 3- 5 NETS•T: 2- 5 NETS•A: 1- 3, 5 Keywords: web20found, networkedlearning, lms, literacies E-mail: tsteelemaley@svrsu.org Primary URL/Discussion: online resource site coming online                Purpose & ObjectivesPurpose of this session is:  introduce faculty and admin to WHS Canvas LMS. to provide examples, techniques and online resources for teachers to use in the classroom and in online spaces through the creation of a Personal Learning Network (PLN). Introduce current research/resources on digital literacies and citizenship Supporting Research Introduction to Canvas: Canvas K-12 Site Introduction Video: Canvas PLN Personal Lerning Networks for Educators: Video via Dr. Skip Via Follow Richard Byrne http://www.freetech4teachers.com/  Join: Classroom 2.0: http://www.classroom20.com/ Twitter in Plain English http://www.commoncraft.com/Twitter  Brief and engaging video look at how Twitter works. Twittering not Frittering http://www.edutopia.org/twitter-professional-development-technology-microblogging  Explanation of how Twitter can be used as a professional development tool. TwittGroups ADE and Teachers http://twittgroups.com/groups/ade and http://twittgroups.com/groups/teachers  Listing of many Apple Distinguished Educators and Teachers who are using Twitter  Alan November, Web Literacy  Howard Rheingold, Crap Detection 101  Bud Hunt,  Lie of Community  Internet literacy is a hot media/govt topic... a sampling: Digital Literacy is important

Connected Learning

The Essence of Connected Learning from DML Research Hub on Vimeo.

We are living in a historical moment of transformation and realignment in the creation and sharing of knowledge, in social, political and economic life, and in global connectedness. There is wide agreement that we need new models of education suited to this historic moment, and not simply new models of schooling, but entirely new visions of learning better suited to the increasing complexity, connectivity, and velocity of our new knowledge society. Fortunately, we are also able to harness the same technologies and social processes that have powered these transformations in order to provide the next generation with learning experiences that open doors to academic achievement, economic opportunity, and civic engagement. Specifically, we now have the capability to reimagine where, when, and how learning takes place; to empower and motivate youth to pursue knowledge and develop expertise at a pace, to a degree, and on a path that takes advantage of their unique interests and potential; and to build on innovations across a growing spectrum of learning institutions able to support a range of learning experiences for youth that were unimaginable even 15 years ago. We propose a new approach to learning -- connected learning -- that is anchored in research, robust theories of learning, and the best of traditional standards, but also designed to mine the learning potential of the new social- and digital media domain. Connected learning is a model of learning that holds out the possibility of reimagining the experience of education in the information age. It draws on the power of today's technology to fuse young people's interests, friendships, and academic achievement through experiences laced with hands-on production, shared purpose, and open networks.

DML Central Connected Learning

High Tech High

What does WHS already do that mirrors this innovative 21st century learning community. What makes High Tech High so admired?


Standards Driven PBL: What the process looks like.

Blogging: What would your day look like?

The inaugural Web 2.0 Foundations blog posts are due this weekend.  After participants looked over detailed directions and had some face to face collaborative planning time about blog basics we have moved on to understand blogs in a more conceptual sense while using blogs in learning context.  We use a comprehensive Blogging design sheet for our weekly reflection blog assignment:


At first I will give participants prompts, but in weeks to come their self organized research topics will guide blog posts:

Prompt 1 was given at the beginning of Week 2:

After viewing and commenting on the post above (http://whsii.blogspot.com/2012/02/networked-student.html) answer the following question in a new post on your blog "If you could get credit for school learning anyway you wished what would your day look like"? Remember to follow the Web 2.0 Blogging Assignment carefully and add images and or video in your post.

To scaffold this learning we devoted time to brainstorming dream designs and experiences for learning.... and had our first Mobile Learning experience with a short "walking" tour of the science wing to ideate on the potentials of WHS architecturally. More discussion in class.... I have students take group notes via Google Docs with one volunteer scribe to capture the big ideas.... Now its up to them. A few examples of divergent and very successful learning environments will follow in the next posts for participants all.

Targets Met (Week One and Two) *:

The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•S)

and Performance Indicators for Students

1. Creativity and Innovation  

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:

a.apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.*

b.create original works as a means of personal or group expression.*

c.use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.*

d.identify trends and forecast possibilities.*

2. Communication and Collaboration  

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:

a.interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. (Partial)

b.communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.

c.develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.

d.contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.*

3. Research and Information Fluency  

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:

a.plan strategies to guide inquiry.*

b.locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.*

c.evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.*

d.process data and report results.

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making  

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:

a.identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation. (Partial)

b.plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.*

c.collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.*

d.use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions. (Partial)

5. Digital Citizenship   Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:  

a.advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.*

b.exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.*

c.demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning. (Emerging)

d.exhibit leadership for digital citizenship. (Emerging)

6. Technology Operations and Concepts   Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:  

a.understand and use technology systems.*

b.select and use applications effectively and productively.*

c.troubleshoot systems and applications.*

d.transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.*

PD Series: Using Canvas to Create Community

[1]

Over years of teaching I have used many different tools for blended learning.  From Moodle and Mahara, to Wordpress, Blogger, Netvibes, and wholly distributed systems of personal learning networks based on Networked Learning, MOOC and Connectivist movements in education and more. The purpose of all of these tools (and mine as a social studies teacher, tech integrator, and teacher of information studies), for online learning was to build a learning community that extends, enhances and amplifies learning while also allowing learners to build on interests, dreams and aspirations for their future.  In transition to blended learning it is important that all involved, both teachers and students, are appropriately challenged. A good way to accomplish this in the early stages, is through the creation of a learning management system.

Canvas

Canvas offers a learning management system that is intuitive to students and teachers while also being connected directly with Google Apps.  The result is a dynamic environment for course design, management, and communication. As an opening vignette to the professional development series tied to Web 2.0 Foundations we will look at opening a course with Canvas.

* As a reminder: I will set up faculty sites this year for all core courses in Canvas upon request.

Setting up an LMS (Canvas)

This process takes setting the stage for learning in a blended course environment. 

The email:
Students woke up on Monday to an email from me with a small course welcome and the indication that they needed to check a link with a detailed explanation about getting course material: 

The explanation:
http://whsii.blogspot.com/2012/01/welcome-web-20-foundation-participants.html

The outcome:
One hundred percent of the students in my course who where on my original course lists came ready to learn and understanding enough to ask good questions about how they could "catch up" with what I had set forth as expectations.  This is not in my teaching experience unusual.  I have spent up to 24/7 with high schoolers for five weeks as well as in classroom settings and one thing I have found is that they respond to appropriate expectations asking them to take charge of their learning.  Nothing special here. Hello, go to this link, this is what you should expect from me and this is what I expect from you.  Students who have come in later I have worked with to catch up.  Within 24 hours of the course start all students (across the spectrum) where in Canvas communicating with the Web 2.0 Foundations community.


What they found upon entry into OpenClass:
 Organization, simplicity in design, pathways of communication.

What they found in Week 1

 

This is What I found:

Almost 100 Percent participation in the online forums....At all hours

 

Within 48 hours the internal Twitter/Facebook "like" course wall becomes populated with community interaction and peer to peer learning.

 Setting up a blended learning environment takes work.  But more importantly it takes a realization that young people can, will and prefer to learn in part by the digital spaces that their lives revolve around.  In Web 2.0 Foundations first week students exhibited the core of 21st century learning.  They found, validated, leveraged, analyzed and synthesized information and problem solved and collaborated in dynamic spaces.  I hope you see how using an LMS might be a first step to blending your coursework and empowering your students to learn in new ways. For those of you using LMS now,  you already know the benefits and I hope you will find specifics that might help or inspire....(and yes, you can upload your Moodle courses directly into Canvas).
 

PD Series: Creating Blended Learning With Google Apps and Canvas

Web 2.0 Foundations is off to a healthy and inspiring start.

The course introduces students to Web 2.0 Foundations (learning and technological environments) through the experiential based pedagogy of networked and mobile learning. Web 2.0 Foundations utilizes a blended learning design to create a virtual and face to face community that promotes ubiquitous learning for WHS students.

According to Colis and Moonen (2001), "blended learning is a hybrid of traditional face-to-face and online learning so that instruction occurs both in the classroom and online, and where the online component becomes a natural extension of traditional classroom learning." [1]  Blended Learning is an essential step toward readying young people for 21st century living.  As a learner, seeing the school classroom as a part or the learning process and not the whole is vital for success today. Likewise, Young people have the world at there fingertips and are using it:

The worlds reality illuminates the fact that old models are not working or preparing students.  What conversations should K-12 Educators have with Universities....




How educators facilitate and find confluence with the world and adapt or bypass current educational systems will determine in many ways the relevance of the teaching profession and schools.  Colis and Moonen, Bonk and Graham (2006) [2] , Jacobs (2010) [3] agree that embracing blended learning is essential for 21 century learners and is a solid step forward for educators.  According to the 2010 Horizon Report [4] (one of the most respected K-12 indices of research back learning trends):

Technology is increasingly a means for empowering students, a method for communication and socializing, and a ubiquitous, transparent part of their lives. Technology is impacting all of our lives, and especially the lives of students, in new and expanding ways. Once seen as an isolating influence, technology is now recognized as a primary way to stay in touch and take control of one’s own learning. Multisensory, ubiquitous, and interdisciplinary, technology is integrated into nearly everything we do. It gives students a public voice and a means to reach beyond the classroom for interaction and exploration.

We have the tools at WHS to move in the direction of prescient change without that change feeling radical.  Blended learning starts with empowerment. Learners take control of their learning through participation in scaffolded online and classroom communities. The first step toward learner self determination comes through expectation and assistance in weaving a world of learning with your students by creating a community both public and semi-public that is with learners twenty-four hours a day seven days a week.  Using a learning management systems (LMS) creates a link between face to face and virtual learning worlds without exposing the teacher or learners to the wilds of the public for core learning community interface.

Web 2.0 Foundations is using Canvas as an LMS platform.  Canvas weaves with Google Apps and provides a "cloud based" solution for moving your class into the 21st century.  Your content becomes fluid, your teaching opened to the wealth of resources on the internet and your communication/pedegogy amplified in a space that an overwhelming majority of students find comfort in navigating.

Posts dealing with Blended Learning will be "labeled" with blended learning canvas, lms and pd at the end of the post so you can easily find the series as more posts come in on other topics.

Thank you for your vision.  Please comment and start a conversation below!

The Networked Student

Over this term you will be completing a Personal Learning Network (PLN). Being a networked student is vital for success in the 21st century. Please view the following video and read the basics of our assignment below. What are you looking forward to and what may be difficult? What will be your first topic of research?

   

Creating a PLN (Networked Learning Project)
Objective: develop and use networked learning to create a personal learning environment/network for 21st century research and design.

Preparation

• Each learner selects his or her topic of study, (what you know, what you want to know), and establishes a research question.

• Acceptable/Responsible Fair Use policy is discussed.

The project is positioned within the following perspective.

What if your teachers disappeared and you had to learn on your own? Would you give up on learning? Where would you begin? Why would learning be important? You are an empowered learner. You have the power to learn anything. How much you learn is up to you. How you manage your learning is up to you. How you manage your time is up to you. A big part of your success will depend on how well you are organized.

Introduction of Tools

Web applications are introduced one at a time to give participants the chance to master the tool within the context of the study topic. Digital literacy is integrated into these lessons as needed. The essential questions of digital literacy are presented.

• Where can you go for good information?
• How do you know if you can trust what you find?
• How will you find subject matter experts you can trust to help you learn?
• Why is reflection important when you are learning something new?
• Why is it important to share what you’ve learned? How will you share?

Web Application (Components of the Networked Learning Environment for Research)

Social Bookmarking (RSS) "Delicious"and/or "Pinboard"

• http://delicious.com/

• http://https://pinboard.in/

• Explain Really Simple Syndication (RSS) and evaluation of Websites

• Set up the account

• Subscribe to each others accounts

• Bookmark, read and annotate at least 5 reliable websites per week that reflect the content of chosen topic

• Add, annotate and read at least 3 additional sites each week.

Note Taking (Information Management) "Evernote"

• http://www.evernote.com

• Create Evernote account

• Begin content collection

News and Blog Alert (RSS)"Google Alert"

• http://www.google.com/alerts"

• Create a Google Alert of keywords associated with selected topic

• Read news and blogs on that topic that are delivered via email daily

• Subscribe to appropriate blogs in reader

Personal Web Aggregator (RSS, Information Management) "Google Everything", "Symbaloo" and "Netvibes"

• http://www.google.com/intl/en/about/products/index.html

• http://www.symbaloo.com/

• http://http://www.netvibes.com/en

• Introduction to Google, Netvibes and Symbaloo for Learning

• Customize choice

• Start by creating a Homepage

• This will build as participants learn new tools

News and Blog Reader (RSS) Google Reader, Reeder RSS Feeds

• http://www.google.com/reader/, http://madeatgloria.com/brewery/silvio/reeder

• Search for blogs and newsfeeds devoted to chosen topic

• Subscribe to blogs and newsfeeds to keep track of updates.

• Set up gadgets in Symbaloo

Personal Blog(RSS)/Mobile Blog "Blogger"

• Create a personal blog

• Blogger

• Post a personal reflection each day of the content found and experiences related to the use of Networked Learning Research Environment pertaining to project topics

• Find bloggers with similar topics subscribe to blogs in reader

Internet Search (Information Management, Contacts, and Synchronous Communication)"Google Scholar"

• http://scholar.google.com/

• Conduct searches in Google Scholar and Fogler library databases for scholarly works.

• Bookmark appropriate sites

• Consider making contact with expert for video conference"

Video (Research, Fun) "Vimeo"

• http://www.vimeo.com/

• Create and Account.
• Create a Channel.

Photo Sharing "Flikr or Picassa"

• http://www.flickr.com/
• http://picasa.google.com/

• Create and Account.
• Upload Photos.
• Share Photos.

• Interest of Participants

Video Conferencing (Contacts and Synchronous Communication) "Skype"

• http://www.skype.com

• Identify at least one subject matter expert to invite to Skype with you, group, family, community for your project.

Daily research, reflection, sharing (Ongoing during project)

Once the personal learning environment is constructed, the learner will continue to conduct research and navigate new content on a daily basis. Activities will be divided between introducing a tip or offering a research theme for the day, actual time spent conducting research will vary.
Synthesis- (Suggested at 1 to 2 weeks) "Google Site or Blog Page"

• Craft a final synthesis of your work.

Other Networks

Covered with time remaining or interest.

Podcasts (RSS) "iTunesU" "Academic Earth"

• http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/ or http://academicearth.org/

• Search iTunesU or Academic Earth for podcasts related to topic

• Listen or view to at least 4-10 podcasts or lectures

Microblogging "Twitter"

• http://twitter.com/

• Create and Account

• Follow 10 Individuals or organizations you found during research.

• Advanced use as interested

References|Attribution

• Steele-Maley, T (2010). Networked Project Design
• Drexler, W. (2008). YouTube - Networked Student. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved February 24, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwM4ieFOotA

• Portions of this Project Design have been adapted from the work of Dr. Wendy Drexler with permission. 

Web 2.0 Foundations: A Course in Participatory Technology

"So the coin of the realm is not memorizing the facts and figures their going to need for the rest of their lives; the coin of the realm will be, do you know how to find, validate and leverage information; do you know how to analyze and synthesize that information; and can you problem solve, collaborate and communicate with it...." - Ken Kay [1]

Hello all,

Web 2.0 Foundations: A Course in Participatory Technology

An Opening Vignette:

Technology is a word we often confuse with computers, programs, and myriad gadgets only.  If you dig deeper I think you would agree that humans have utilized technology in very innovative ways since the Middle Paleolithic (or for those numbers folks out there c. 200,000 years ago+-).  Be it friction fire, basketmaking, agriculture, irrigation, warfare, in-door plumbing, radio's or iPads there has always been a human driving the social use of these tools.  Elders, leaders, wise people....yes teachers have always enabled and proliferated technology at the core of cultures.  We need to never loose site that the young people before us are entering a radically different world than the one we came from.  Though pockets of traditional life ways exist (and may proliferate in terms of localization of food and economies), the connections young people have to the world and what the world needs are fundamentally shifting the narrative of their futures. We need a learning design that helps young people prepare for a world without borders.   So how are we responding? In 2008, Pearson put together this short video to make a few suggestions:



"We have to develop a narrative that sustains 21st century learning."

The 21st century imperatives for learning deal with information.  Do we enable our students to find, validate, leverage, analyze, synthesize , problem solve and collaborate with information on a regular basis?  What does this look like? 

Web 2.0 Foundations is designed to be a participatory venture between our school, teachers, learners and the community that moves students into spaces of dynamic individualized learning with new technologies while also helping the whole faculty move toward creating spaces (mental, physical and online) that enable these 21st century learners.

Over the semester I will post my designs for Web 2.0 Foundations: setting up an Learning Management System and expectations for networked learning, designs for extensive networked research, mLearning (Mobile Learning), project based learning, 360 degree assessment and more.  You will also see and be asked to view and give feedback on  student research and online creation.  In the end, via a capstone project I will ask students to take an assignment (two....) from a teachers class and transform it using Web 2.0 Foundations.  This experience is meant to make learning at WHS ubiquitous for the participants of the course and our school community. I look forward to working with you all and look forward to your comments and support!  Before the course "officially" starts here are a few important organizational tips for following this process.

We will tag everything we create with the following:

web2.0found (Social Bookmarking, this blog (Called Labels), student blogs (Called Lables))
#web2.0found (Twitter Hashtag)
web2.0foundtools (for specific tech tools used in the experience)
web2.0foundreading (for specific readings and research findings we like)

More on how to follow this tag stream soon!

I look forward to participating with you all in network!

Coming soon:

Step one: can our students find a syllabus, schedule, updates, discussions and expectations in asynchronous spaces online?.....

ePortfolio Presentation January 11, 2012

Technology Integration Matrix

The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, constructive, goal directed (i.e., reflective), authentic, and collaborative (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003). The TIM associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments. Together, the five levels of technology integration and the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments create a matrix of 25 cells as illustrated below. - Florida Center for Instructional Technology. (2009). The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM). Retrieved from http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix.php

I encourage you all to peruse the TIM site and start a comment discussion. Where are we on this continuum? What is interesting? What seems impossible? What seems vital to address?