I recall one of the authors of our Reinventing PBL text referred to making decisions about curriculum, etc. in “comfortable anonymity”, and it struck me that I had made decisions like that, quite often, mostly because of circumstances; most tech teachers in SVVSD are a one-person department. I recall her closing sentence, she now feels like she would never want to plan a PBL unit on her own.
And we don’t have to….dammit…no more excuses, there are plenty of other tech teachers to talk to on the planet; other resources, ideas, software, that we were shown this week. I had to admit to being a bit of a ‘phobe, and felt like I turned an important corner this week. And thanks to Frau Van, can no longer think of computer gamers as couch potatoes…another generalization shattered for me
I learned once again that I still value a classroom setting, learned so much from the Wips, informal chats with fellow students, watching Bud and Jerry run the tekkie stuff with no breakdowns or glitches (and they even let us drink and eat in there, no spills, we’re good). Great mix of hands-on activities, modeling stuff, then letting us run with it.
I have known about blogging, wikis, for some time but am amazed at the speed and instantaneous nature of it….a conversation with the authors of the text?? Real-time?? I’m wowed (okay I’m over 50…..) but having done an undergrad degree in the dark ages and remembering snail mail books…just looks so archaic now.
I am just amazed at what we have to sift through, and teach kids to sift through, they are bombarded. They need a “wired”- type class, not because they are college bound, or AP or IB but because they need to know how to decide, vote, buy, parent based on the right information.
What I leave camp with is a sort of (good) urgency……once teachers know what’s out there in the realm of resources, teachers, students, communities to connect with, it’s our obligation to share/teach it. Thanks, it leaves me more hopeful, and a bit more willing to try new things just below the radar. Go figure….its June and I’m excited to go back in the fall. The proposal piece is coming along…has turned into a stars and wishes list that I must now go back thru……good night campers
What a daunting task that you have undertook, Joann….In fact, at some of the schools I taught at, we had a technology class and the students developed and maintained the web site. Of course, all ideas and the creative aspects of the site were closely managed by the instructor. It is amazing what these young people know when given the opportunity..The students would develop certain aspects of the web page, but would build on what is termed a blueprint. Only the web page manager could activate the cite. Your ideas and your solictation for ideas are very commendable….I believe during this day an age, a web page is not a window dressing as was viewed years ago, but as an invitation for outsiders to look at the quality of the school….. Good luck, you have the talent and the ambition…
This is the twelfth WiP presentation from CyberCamp. In this presentation, Joanne shares some of her thinking and research about her school’s website and websites in general. Here’s the link to the archive of the chat from the session. Joanne’s portion begins approximately two-thirds of the way down the page.
This is the eleventh WiP presentation from CyberCamp. Jerry talks up through his thinking around building a digital photography course that lives partially online. Here’s the link to the archive of the chat from the session.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
I am by no means blazing a new path, but I am getting the feeling that the trail is moving into less treaded territory. The Web2.0 tools that we are learning about are sure to be the “way it is done” in the not so distant future. My hope is that the tools we use will ultimately result in students developing more of the content for the course, and less filling in the blanks.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
I am by no means blazing a new path, but I am getting the feeling that the trail is moving into less treaded territory. The Web2.0 tools that we are learning about are sure to be the “way it is done” in the not so distant future. My hope is that the tools we use will ultimately result in students developing more of the content for the course, and less filling in the blanks.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
I am by no means blazing a new path, but I am getting the feeling that the trail is moving into less treaded territory. The Web2.0 tools that we are learning about are sure to be the “way it is done” in the not so distant future. My hope is that the tools we use will ultimately result in students developing more of the content for the course, and less filling in the blanks.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
I am by no means blazing a new path, but I am getting the feeling that the trail is moving into less treaded territory. The Web2.0 tools that we are learning about are sure to be the “way it is done” in the not so distant future. My hope is that the tools we use will ultimately result in students developing more of the content for the course, and less filling in the blanks.
In my never ending search for interesting items to use in my library and school websites, I came across a link that I believe Bud shared with us when I took his k12 online conference class last fall. The main site is CommonCraft, but I clicked on the link from that site that lists numerous CommonCraft,com videos on Teacher Tube.
Based on the various projects we’re working on in CyberCamp, I think many of us could use/embed these videos and use them as brief introductions for our students (blogs, wikis, Google Docs, RSS, twitter, etc). The CommonCraft site explains the details (YouTube embed doesn’t apply for us – use Teacher Tube embed instead) – embed instead? I see a haiku in my future:)
Details, Details
Want to Share on the Public Web?
The video above is free and offered for non-commercial use. You are welcome to share it as long as you attribute “Common Craft”. The You Tube embed code is below:
You can also find it on Blip.tv, dotSUB (subtitles), or TeacherTube
Enjoy watching!
Joanne
Enjoyed today’s presentations very much! Jerry’s ideas were cool and inspiring for the use of Virtual CAmpus and Voicethread. I think Voicethread could be a natural for his digital photography class and other art classes as well. Students will be able to comment on their work and on classmates works as well. It’s collaborative, fun, and a great learning and teaching tool. Enjoyed the conversations around websites as Joanne searches for what will work best for her school.
Despite a few sound glitches, the conversation with the authors went fine. One part of the conversation that I really liked was the changing idea of professional practice, that many educational professionals are having an “internal shift” of what is needed in this area and they are creating that change themselves rather than waiting for their district or administration to begin the change. Hmmm… interesting.
Well, that’s it for now. See you tomorrow at the final day of CyberCamp!
Tagged: professional development, school websites, Virtual Campus, voicethread
