July 15th ePals Conference: Online Communication for Students

If you are looking for great ideas for interactive learning with friends from all over the world, check out The First Annual ePals Conference, which is scheduled as a pre-conference workshop at Alan November's annual conference. The session will take place on Thursday, July 15th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Boston Newton Marriott.  Educators interested in global education projects, collaborative technology tools, Web 2.0, and how these impact learning, will want to attend and perhaps present. If you have best practice or implementation tips related to Web 2.0 and social networks, send in your ideas for the conference.

Building Interactive Courses and Activities

Harbinger Knowledge Products' Raptivity, a winner of Technology & Learning's Award of Excellence, provides an easy way to set up courses, webinars, surveys, learning content, etc. just like you want. It features a library of over 200 learning interactions such as games, videos, simulations, 3D interactions, puzzles, visuals, diagrams, simulations-you name it. To set up courses, you'll need to use a Pentium III processor or higher; those using what you create will need a Pentium II processor or higher. The program has a clean look and looks easy to use. As an educator, you'll appreciate that interactivities can be set up based upon the learning theory (Bloom, Gagne, etc.) This is a product that you'll need time to investigate carefully, so if you are interested, you'll want to download the Free Trial, take the tour, and sign up for one of the free Webinars. There are several levels of Raptivity that can be purchased depending upon need. The lowest price for education is below $300 and includes 35 interaction models. However, you may be interested in higher-level versions of the product or some of the add-ons (Video TurboPack, Simulations TurboPack, etc.) that are available at an additional cost.

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.

Do You Have an Intelligent Classroom?

Sign up for Model Intelligent Classroom News or visit the Model Intelligent Classroom site to keep up with ideas and news about how to bring 21^st Century Skills into your classroom. Find out what technologies can make a difference and how you can best integrate them into your teaching. Investigate Tips like Top Whiteboard Use, Digital Story Telling, Multidisciplinary Digital Photography, Launching a Laptop Program, Professional Development, and Building an Online Community. Model Intelligent Classroom is hosted by Technology & Learning and features Dell and Intel in partnership with school districts throughout the United States.

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.

To Filter or Not to Filter - Sites, eMail, etc.

Everyone complains about filtering. It's a topic often argued by teachers, parents, school leaders, and students, but nobody has come up with a solution that pleases everyone. Because people have differing values, needs, and backgrounds, the hope of finding a solution isn't on the horizon. Teachers and parents complain that filtering isn't adequate. Parents call schools complaining about nasty comments that came to their children's email, in a chat room, or through a text message. Schools get calls from parents who request a magic button that will keep their children safe from what they consider inappropriate sites and digital communication. Teachers and students complain that sites they want to get into are blocked. They can't access the sites they need for their lessons. Tech administrators complain that they can't keep up with the filtering dilemma. They are too busy opening and closing sites and checking digital communication is overwhelming and takes time from their other duties. Maybe it's time to find out more about the why's and how's of filtering? The site Teachers Teaching Teachers has a podcast called Locating the Tyranny of Filtering. This is a conversation with some folks who are responsible for what is and isn't to be blocked.

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.

The Internet & the War in Iraq

The Associated Press piece, On blogs and Web sites, by e-mail and video, the Iraq war is fought on the Internet, published online in MIT's Technology Review, calls the Operation Iraqi Freedom iWar v1.0 "interactive".  Who's putting information online about the war? Just about everyone. There are soldier blogs, a U.S. military Website, an Islamic Army Website, Internet resources on Iraq selected by the Library of Congress, and even videos showing attacks on U.S. soldiers. The story of what's happening in Iraq is being told from the viewpoints of many different people, not just journalists or official government sources, for the war is being fought online as well as in Iraq. According to the article, the Pentagon, understanding the importance of digital communication, "is preparing for iWar v2.0." As you work with your students on lessons in history or contemporary issues, this is a topic that will help students better understand why critical reading and attention to sources of information are important. Media literacy is an essential ingredient in the education of our students today.