Keeping Up with Tech by Watching Videos

As educators we hear so much about tools and sites we can use, but often time to learn everything we want to learn isn't available. We go to conventions and workshops, and think, "I'm going to master that" but we don't get around to it. One way to keep up is to try some of the free educational videos online that describe some of things you want to learn. Perhaps you are interested in developing online surveys, using Podcasts in your classroom, investigating Second Life, creating blogs, or using Delicious, Blackboard, Flash, PhotoShop or.... ? Russell Stannard, who writes about the Web and multimedia, offers a series of free videos to help you tackle the topics you've not found time for. If you are interested in ELT/ESL teaching videos, you'll also find a number of useful ones on the Stannard site.

Momentum in Online Learning

More schools and students are turning to online learning according to the findings in Learning in the 21^st Century: A Trends Update survey of over 250,000 students, teachers and parents. The percentage (41%) of students agreeing that "online classes will have the greatest positive impact on their learning" doubled from the percentage in a 2006 survey. Twenty-six percent of teachers now say that online learning is their favorite teaching method. In the previous survey, it was 7%. Eighty-eight percent of the school administrators surveyed held that the effective implementation of tech was "core to their mission." Although everyone's not rushing to online learning just yet, it's evident that online learning is becoming a valuable resource for enhancing classroom instruction, providing additional help for students, and providing coursework that is not available in a local school. It's interesting that only about one-third of the students suggested that more time with Web 2.0 technologies-blogs, social networking, wikis, etc. be put to use in classrooms. Do you wonder what that percentage will be in the next survey?

Your Professional vs. Virtual Life

When might your virtual life come in conflict with your teaching career and/or with your ability to get a teaching job? Maybe during college you posted something on a social networking site and forgot about it? Maybe you put a sexy photo online, had second thoughts about it, and then thought you'd removed all traces of it? Maybe you think what you do online won't be found by your students, their parents, or your supervisors? Today pre-service teachers and in-service teachers are finding that what they've put online can haunt or destroy their careers. Some teachers have been denied credentials, some have been suspended, and others have lost their jobs because of Web postings. The Washington Post article, When Young Teachers Go Wild on the Web discusses the problems involved when sites on the Web show teachers looking and acting, well-not so professional.

Teens & Their Secret Digital Lives

Prevention Magazine (April '08) published The Secret Life of Teens and a number of other articles (Secret Life of Teens by Rich, Secret Life of Teens: Clubbing by Cuomo) and books (The Secret Life of Teens by Patnaik and Shinseki) have targeted this topic as well. Those writing about teens cover topics such as alcohol and drug abuse, teens' lives, hopes and dreams; teens' nightlife; and how to help teens survive these often exciting and dangerous years. It's evident that teens look to online communities and digital communication for interaction. Going to FaceBook, for example, helps them get away from the adults in their lives. In an online community they can share their secrets, which often aren't secrets for long. It's their world, and probably many of us ex-teens would have liked to have that world available at times when we were teens. But it's also a world that can become addictive. Aside from the possibility of online dangers, there's the danger that teens are so drawn to digital communities that they go there instead of interacting with those around them. It's not just online communities that are keeping our students from being part of the real world. Katie Baldo, the guidance counselor quoted in the Prevention piece warns that kids, because of being wired to their digital connections, aren't getting the practice they need with non-digital social interaction. She recommends that use of technologies such as cellphones, MP3 players, and video games be limited to one-hour on weekdays and two-hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Of course, teens and even pre-teens would say that this digital world is an important part of their real world.

Let Your Students Write Help Guides

Why not let your students help other students and your faculty by preparing tech guides? For students who know tech, this is a challenge they'll enjoy. Students in Maine created a Google Docs guide using what looks like the program Comic Life and the free online pdf  viewer called Issuu. Although they could print and distribute their work, by using Issuu, they've posted their guide online and the pages turn just like they do in online catalogs. It looks very professional. Kids are also making video help guides, which can be perfect help sources for all in a school community and beyond. Besides, when kids create for others, they are learning so much themselves not only about the subject being covered, but also about presentation. Once their work is distributed online and offline, it's a plus for their self-image and will look good on college applications as well.

Flip Over the Flip

Your students have probably already heard of Flip cameras. In fact, some of them may already have a Flip. These are digital video cameras that sell for a fraction of the cost (about $150) of mini-camcorders. They're small-about 4" by 2" and come in a variety of colors. Of course, they can't do everything a more expensive video camera can, but they are perfect for student presentations, Web video, recording classroom events, and much more. -And they'll load into your computer with their own USB plug that pops out from the body of the camera. The Flip Ultra could be a great addition to your classroom tools.

Teaching Teachers Tech—Any Ideas?

Everybody talks about the need for in-service tech education. You've probably heard school board members and district administrators say, "We've got to get all teachers using technology effectively in their classrooms." Schools schedule sessions that sound good, but often end up with only part of the teachers in the session learning from it and the rest of them complaining that they already knew the content, that it didn't have anything to do with what they teach, or that they didn't understand one word of what the session leader was talking about. Reactions usually range from "Great session" to "Total Waste of Time". Because teachers are at so many different levels of knowledge and because what they need to know depends upon grade level, student ability, and subject area, one-size-fits-all training doesn't work. Training needs to be individualized. Workshop sessions offered at conventions like NECC and online courses such as those scheduled by PBS TeacherLine are better suited to meeting the tech learning needs of teachers. In addition, there are online learning experiences offered by textbook publishers, computer and software companies, and educational sites (like Powertolearn.com) that may be perfect for individualizing teacher learning about tech.

Who's the Techie in the Classroom?

Although many parents think their kids know everything about tech, we know they don't. Nobody does. Students want us to believe that they are far ahead of us adults, and many of them actually believe it themselves. They are the Tech Generation, right? Well, so are we. Like everyone, what kids know really well is what they are interested in, and with kids it's most likely downloading music, text messaging, and posting videos online rather than effective Internet searches, well thought-out and organized digital presentations and reports, and use of their computers as an assistant in learning. Sure, there will be some students in every class who may be knowledgeable in tech topics, but even so, they may only understand the how-tos, not how their skills can and should be put to use in their education. For example, even though a student may be adept at editing digital video and popping it into a presentation, it's you who can help that student to understand whether the video is appropriate to the topic or simply glitz, whether the sources are worthwhile and if they have been cited, how to fit the video to the assignment. Consider yourself the tech guru in your classroom.

Free Resources to Investigate

The freetech4teachers blogspot features links to resources you can use.  You'll find the United National Cyber School Bus, the Kerpoof site with creative resources for teachers and kids, Mango online language lessons, online documentaries, the Jing visual communication resource, and much more. If you don't see what you want in the list on the opening page, you can do a search of the freetech4teachers files. Be sure to scroll down the opening page to take a look at the archives of previous blogspots.  There are some great ones to investigate. -And if you didn't catch the spot for January 25, 2008, link to it to watch a video of progressive education ideas in the 1940s. It's called "Has Much Changed?"  Has it?

Accept No More Excuses!

It was the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow research years ago that suggested good things wouldn't happen until teachers were ready to use technology. And so we waited through the 1980s and 1990s, and even into this new millennium. The gentle push was acceptable back in the 1980s, but not now. We shouldn't have to drag, motivate, and beg educators to get going with tech any more. Are our students falling behind because they are not getting the education they might have? What's happened to the promise of technology for students with learning problems? Terry Freedman, in his TechLearning Blog comment, says the problem "is our willingness to make allowances" and that we should stop putting up with those who aren't learning how to use technology effectively in their classrooms and administrators who condone this behavior. Talk to those who worked on creative tech projects in the early years of computers in education. They'll tell you that while resources and equipment have mushroomed, the reality of technology's effective integration into all classrooms is still a dream. Just where are we? Sure, good things are happening in some classrooms, probably yours if you are reading this, but ....