My Project

Writing down all of the things I learned during this project could take a whole book. In the spirit of brevity, I'll summarize:

1. Technology is a great way to engage students. Considering that kids choose to spend @6 hours on line in their free time, the Internet hold obvious relevance to them, and therefore unlimited potential for ELA classrooms.
2. If kids are engaged in learning - and they were with this project! - their behavior, interest, and focus improve. The kids I worked with were typically self-professed low academic performers who said that ELA teachers talk too much and that writing is boring. Interestingly, they were able to focus for long periods of time during our small group sessions and asked me to stay past the 1-2 hours I spent at the club. They also want to continue working on the website (which isn't finished yet) and have created a bunch of potential projects using the video cam, blogs, etc.
3. Creating a website is text-dense; there is a lot of writing involved. Just making captions for a slide show on the site took 2 hours! If you want to get kids excited about writing, this is the project for you.
4. It's better to create websites with their own URL, even if it takes more time to figure out. I had 2 versions of the site, the first done in free webs, the second with its own domain name. I found the construction of the second a little intimidating, but it gave me more options, and using office live (Microsoft's website editing package) was relatively easy once I got the hang of it. I wish I would have done this to begin with.
5. Small groups work! Instead of lecturing, I gave some tasks, talked with kids about how they wanted to achieve them, and then basically stood back and watched. The decentralization of authority (I was no longer the knowledge giver) had a profound effect on our relationship - we developed a great mutual respect for one another.
6. I learned all about video editing on the PC, USB streaming,editing URL websites, creating Cd's and uploading videos, (I burned my first DVD and CD!) and much, much more. Finally I know how to make videos from my video cam, and plan to make one of a family celebration I just attended in Indiana as Christmas presents to family; my cousin came back after a 3 year stint in Africa, and it will be a great memoir for all of us after he goes back). These are invaluable skills, both professionally and personally.

In the future, I would love to have a professional teacher critique what I did in the small groups and comment on the management style. I'd love to try it out in a classroom. I would definitely make an effort to make a quieter environment; the kids really couldn't focus with all of the noise in the lab I worked in. I would consider age appropriate tasks; the text editing group work was way over the heads of the 8th grade girls I worked with. I also would have spent less time taking videos/pictures for the site and more time creating/editing text. Overall, I needed more time to do this right - that is, to make it more of the kids' project and less my own.

The kids and I will continue to work on this project and our little technology group has been a vortex of student interest; practically all of the club members want to get involved because it is FUN. All I can say is that I need a few more of me to do this, but I'm excited to work with these wonderful young people. Kudos to Prof's Reid and Stearns for generating a true learning experience in 506!

Why do we need to teach books?

I spent a lot of time reading Alex's thoughts on "why teach literature per books?" Sure, digital technology is a literacy, but it is only ONE kind of literacy in a broad world of many, including classic works of literature.

What's wrong with embracing the literary antiquity of books? Books are a connection to our ancestors; they give us a perspective of where we are and where we've come from. Openning a book may be irrelevant but it is a ritual, (much like body piercing) through which we get in touch with our archeypal roots. I'd like to thinks that history and heritage of printed text is important, even if it may not occupy the dominate place in ELA classrooms.

Plus, absorbing information digitally makes one's eyes bloodshot.

Digital Girls Site

Enjoyed this quote from the Digital Girls Site:

"....Conversely, girls’ computer play, on and off the Internet, is often seen as reproducing established gender stereotypes of fashion doll play, shopping, chatting and providing girls with knowledge of no apparent value"

If we're advocating for a new literacy, perhaps we should take these interests and use them in the ELA classroom? I wonder what that'd look like...

Virtual Learning

Michigan leads the charge in state initiatives to increase virtual learning. Since Michigan is one of my favorite states in the world (our family has a cabin on lake superior!), I was interested to read that Michigan now REQUIRES high school students to take at least 1 online course in order to graduate. Alex's prophecy is coming to pass (see his video commentary alternative learning formats at Cortland's iTunes University.)

Teaching writer's Craft

One of our cohorts in English 504/505 had a knockout presentation on teaching writer's craft which is summed up on a blog. It's an excellent example of how blogs can be used to share teaching techniques with collegues in an engaging way, and gives alot of excellent online resources for poetry. Definitely worth the visit.
http://steven-writerscraft.blogspot.com

Student "Multitasking" in the 3.0 Classroom

For those of you who work in computer labs with internet access, you may notice the phenomena of students using class time to surf the web for items of personal interest or games (linerider and solitare are both popular). This can be pretty annoying if they don't seem to be getting work done.

If digital natives are multitaskers who do many things at the same time, maybe some learning is still taking place even though they don't appear to be paying attention. When I was in High School, I was always drawing during math class. It helped me think. In the middle of a particularily elaborate design, the teacher would try to ambush my artistic endeavors by asking me a question about some pesky algebraeic formula thinking he'd stump me. I always had the answer.

In my project, I'm finding that kids who play online music or surfing while we discuss the web project are still tuned in and seem more relaxed about contributing. I found it to be true in my observation as well,for example: A student visiting a guitar site was simultaneously getting some interesting writing done on a project about urban legends.

Maybe I need to learn to relax a little and let them doodle.

Too Late to Ask Profound Questions

I have a lot of pressing questions. What is the meaning of life? Why is the sky blue? And perhaps the most pressing question of the day: how in the name of Macintosh do you post images to the wikki from AOL? Having asked wiki questions before, I know (now that google isn't answering )I may never resolve these critical issues.

I broke my 6 year news fast this week by subscribing to the illustrius Press and Sun Bulletin. Just in time to get this earth shattering news: Google created a fee for service business venture called "Google Answers" that answered important questions for a fee, and then shut it down. Google Answers "charged a fee from $2 - $200 to chase down the answers to minutiae like 'How many tyrannosaurs are in a gallon of gasoline?'" Wow. Now THAT's profound.

Guess I'll have to come up with better questions. Like if this tornado carries me into the bizarre land of flat world business ventures, how do I ever get out? Because somehow, "real time" businesses seem so much more inviting. Businesses you can put your hands on, like the rubber chicken industry...

Guess what?!? Blogs REALLY DO WORK!

Report from the Boys and Girls Club Web page project: Two weeks before presentation and I am chewing my fingernails as the kids I'm working with simultaneously consider how to create text for the home page we are creating collaboratively and catch up on the latest gossip about Brittany Spears. This isn't a classroom, it's an after school program at the boys and girls club. Participation is entirely voluntary. I had my agenda and was pretty frustrated when they weren't seeming to follow any of it.

The kids have no problems opening up with a camera or video cam in their hands. But when it comes to words?!? You hit the nail on the head, Mrs. R: I'm going to be (and am)one exhausted ELA teacher. In a moment of ultimate frustration, I said, "why don't I just post some of these questions on a blog, let you think about them and write back?" HUH? BLOG? What's a blog?

O.k., so I didn't use this wonderful little tool in my project with the kids at all yet. Too busy sweating out the technical details of the web site, trying to garner the kids interest (easily established by popping cameras in their hands), and figuring out how to best work with groups that don't enjoy each other's company...

Hey, guess what? Blogs work! (O.k., o.k., profs, go ahead and say it: You told me so.) They loved the idea. The one group of 3 8th grade girls wrote more words as they created that blog than I have ever heard them speak collectively over the past month. Usually they sit together with these high tech phones (the name of this gadget is on the video for my presentation) talking online and intermittently to each other. I wish I had the stealth of a national geographic photographer and could sneak up on them to capture this phenomena without altering their behavior, but I digress...

So my agenda is changing. Instead of face to face focus groups to discuss what to write on the website, maybe our discussions will be more productive online... gives the chance to think and edit.

It's interesting... the 3-5 girls who meet in this group (there is another group of 3-5 boys) act TOTALLY disinterested. Sometimes I feel like I have roped and tied them into participating purely by my own enthusiasm. So I was shocked today when I suggested we look at another B&G club website to see what text they use...and one of the girls said, "We looked up another site the other day." (!!! INITIATIVE!!!) So this means something to them...they want to contribute. And to my surprise, the blog is becoming a better way to do that. Sometimes you just have to let the reigns of your own agenda go a little bit and try something different that might work better for them. Decentralizing authority.

Millenial Parent Orphans

Young, Dillon and Moje talk about how "the parents of Millennials resolved to stay involved in their children's lives (unlike some gen-x parents before them)" (Alverman, 114).

I've been thinking a lot about this lately as I observe 4 teachers in the Newark Valley School system. Classes here are generally divided by student ability. It's easy to see the students who have "millennial parents" described above. They're in the AP classes, generally. But I'm wondering about the kids whose parents aren't standing behind them academically. Who's helping them build their portfolios and how?
In at least 40% of the students I observed, there is an obvious absence of this mythical millennium parent.Who's helping these students build their portfolios? Their interests? Their range of experiences and thoughts? When does it start happening? Is anyone doing this? Or is it just up to English teachers? What about guidance counsellors? Administrators?

I'm glad that the authors included the case of Mario, but the vast majority of students who are millenium parent orphans don't have his innate enthusiasm. Somewhere along the line it needs to be taught.. let me guess. The English teacher is the best person for the job.

I was relating a triumphant "teachable moment" I had with a millenia parent orphan with my host teacher today. Giving me an all knowing smile, she said, "You're going to be one exhausted teacher." I hope though, that when I try to help expand a portfolio of a student that doesn't have the parent(s) described in the text, I feel energized instead of exhausted. Right now I'm wondering...

Tamara's "Ah Ha!" Moment

I've been struggling to come up with a topic that I could do as a project with kids as collaborative learners. Not having my own classroom, and finding myself in classrooms that use tech on a minimal basis, my creative skills were tested as I struggled to come up with a topic that would interest kids in an after school program. All of the topics I came up with fell on apathetic if not completely deaf ears... online book reviews, creative writing projects, even multi media life projects such as life stories...

Then in a conversation with a director, it was suggested I create a website for the club in collaboration with its young members as a sort of technology club. Viola! Instant perceived audience and instant interest.

Maybe I've bitten off far more than I can chew; website design is more than a little out of my comfort zone, if I want to do it right. But if nothing else, it drove home the potency of technology to draw otherwise unreachable students into dialogue.

Jeremy is not only upright, but standing

Fantastic article giving an example of a video editting project success story...

http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2006/11/06/02tln_duff.html

Six Hours?!?

According to the NYTimes article referenced on our course blog, teenagers "spend six-and-a-half leisure hours a day switching among computers, TV’s, movies, video games, books, iPods, cellphones and texting." And that's a conservative estimate.

I think of my own daughter who will return from school in a few minutes and say, predictably, "Can I use the computer?" My response varies from day to day. of course, homework, piano, and pets need to be taken care of first. Then... if I am busy, sure, go ahead. Without limits, this little nine year old will be gaming on the Disney Website or emailing her friends in Rochester or Boston for literally HOURS. But 6 hours? To use a colloquialism, "OMG!"

O.k., this is a beautiful picture of socialization, but I have a few reservations. What about this juvenile obesity problem? Excercise takes time, too. Are these kids getting up out of their seats? What about the three dimensional world, and gaining new experiences of life outside of the screen? I hope we're not going to start saying, "It's o.k. if they don't, because three dimensional experiences won't be important in the flat world." Yikes! Aren't some of these power-down times what give kids the opportunity to develop that right brained thinking Pink talks about?

Blogs and the Attention Economy

Quote of the week:

"Never in 25 years of teaching have I seen a more powerful motivator for writing than blogs. And that's because of the audience. Writing is not just taped to a refrigerator and then put in the recycle bin. It's out there for the world to see. Kids realize other people are reading what they write."

- Mark Ahlness, 3rd grade teacher at Seattle's Arbor Heights Elementary School
Taken from The Seattle Times: Teachers are reacing out to students with a new class of blogs by Stephanie Dunnewind

MySpace and Teachable Moments

Having been a victim of a faux web site using my name and pictures, I can easily relate to the plight of Mr. Scarpelli in last week’s article entitled “Schools Trying to Prevent Harassment in Cyberspace”. Students created a MySpace profile on the unknowing Mr. Scarpelli using pictures from his school website.

What I find interesting is the author’s comment: If you can’t beat it, educate it. Ideally, we could teach students responsible use of the tools available for them online. Education about harassment issues, as well as the potential dangers of online profiles, is crucial to creative teens who use the web as an outlet for creative expression.

I have yet to see in schools any formal curriculum on harassment let alone harassment on the internet. Simply signing a statement promising proper internet etiquette is not enough. Since “1 in 10 students who use the Internet report being harassed online” (n=1500) I certainly hope that Albany is beginning to look at a curriculums and measurement standards for this important topic… stay tuned.

I have the good fortune of observing Scott in his classroom for Eng 505. This past Thursday, watched him work with a projector from a computer; the class watched as he typed and edited an assignment he had given them, listening to his thought process as he wrote. Scott was acting as an integral part of the learning community using technology. Since my 504 project is based on collaborative learning, I was thrilled to see some of my grad course content working its way into actual classrooms.

One thing that I find interesting from my observations: classrooms currently use web based programs primarily for management. Being slightly overwhelmed (but warming to the idea) of using blogs and websites in collaborative learning, I am both reassured and perplexed that even at the best of sites, it is not common for students contribute writing and interact with a class site. Blog classroom interaction seems to be on the horizon (albeit near horizon) for many classrooms, even amidst the techiest of teachers.

PowerPoint is widely used in the classrooms I've been in, and so it seems like an interesting thing for ENG506 to at least look at. I wonder if most of my classmates are able to do the interesting things that Scott did with interactive quizzes? I was a bit in the dark, and wondered if I was the only one. Please comment.

Teaching to the Test

Last Wednesday in the Eng 504/505 class, I learned something that delighted me: “teaching to the tests” lends itself perfectly to technology, given Alex’s ideal situation.

Professor Kennedy reviewed the 11th grade Regent’s test and the 8th Grade ELA test. The change in test format over the past 20 years is remarkable; examples draw from multiple genre including magazine articles and interpretive graphs. The test can no longer be aced by those who have the innate capacity to b.s. (not that there are any of those on this blog!) Students have to be able to assimilate information on real life issues and opinions, compare and contrast them, and make judgments accordingly.

The most interesting change to me, though, is that students are not asked to simply write for the sake of writing; the issue of audience is present. One question asks students to make a presentation for a board of education to encourage them to purchase personal copies of books for students. Students need to have an understanding of “who’s out there” and need to organize their thoughts to gain their attention.

I’m observing a school that links social studies and English in a writing lab, which is the perfect place to start teaching to the test. The possibilities are endless. Select a current issue that is meaningful to you and become an expert on the subject (involves Web searches, wikipedia, blogs). Form an opinion on the issue based on your research and personal experience (using word processing, graphs in spreadsheets). Cite references from both web sites and professional journals (many of which can be read online through full text searches). Subscribe to a blog that discusses the issue and contribute to it; use your knowledge to edit a wiki. Finally, present your findings to the class (involves powerpoint and/or multimedia tools).

Having the luxury of a writing lab shared with another course gives students a chance to organize their thoughts for a flat world and learn to the test. In Literature classes, students could still delve into literature, learn components of effective writing from literary greats and practice their technique in original work, which only helps them to communicate their arguments more effectively. Original work could easily be displayed on a blog, enabling ease of peer review and community discussion.

Dr. Kennedy’s class has opened my eyes to the concept of genre: each culture has its own set of literary forms used in everyday life. Literature is novels, memoirs, blogs, articles, fairy tales, graphic novels, and so many other wonderful venues that students relate to and need to interpret/respond to. Technology only gives us more tools to teach literacy as it evolves over time.

Enabling or Disabling Youth?

...so (read previous posts here, I can't use my enter key for some reason), I couldn't disagree more with Sharos' quote uttered by Greenberg: "Electronic gizmos make us stupid."

Technology is enabling; it always has been to me. (When I learn to permanently save to the Cortland network, it will be even more enabling!) My point is: be aware that there are (given estimates which I think are conservative) at least 18% of students who have the potential to be disabled, but not the way Sharos discusses. These are students who don't have the technology and know-how to "get with the program". Learned apathy is my greatest concern (I can see where it comes from although again, I repeat, I personally am not there yet.)

I'm glad to hear that Scott is working on grants for his school, and I think this will be a crucial part of our role as educational advocates (I'm considering doing this as a part of my project): bringing in funds to help the lower end of the bell curve. We are not yet the enlightenned society of the future. Everything still comes down to money, and teachers who are willing to learn with their students.

So when I say "I am dumb"...

... I am not saying, "I am unwilling to learn new things, and I am unwilling to know less than my students." The opposite is true; learning new technologies is thrilling to me. Generally, I love to discover a new competency with kids I work with, and I'm certainly not beyond being told I'm wrong. What I am saying is this (and for some reason, I can't use my enter key to make a new paragraph to say it in): teach new technology, be willing to be bewildered and have to putter... but don't ignore teaching some core competencies to achieve your goal. There is a level of competency beneath which students give up and become apathetic. I am not talking about me here. (although I've been tempted to give up on the Mac's) These are the students who are happy to take a 'd' because they just can't get it. If a class is racing well beyond these core competencies, and no one backs up to teach them, it's more than a loss; it's inexcuseable.

Learning with Students

Recent posts on the class blog remind me of my favorite quote by Friedman. "The idea is to constantly learn. You are always taking an examination. There is no end to learning and to what can be done by whom." This is the one thing that I want to communicate to my students, the one attitude that above all others, was helpful to me in my business career. So many people around me were complaining about new databases, spreadsheets, tools for statistical analysis, and office PC environments, I was busy learning how to use and apply them to the material I worked with. It gave me an edge. This is part of the middling advantage kids need in the flat world... I think Friedman calls it adaptibility.

Creative Teaching in Socio-Ec Context

Using Alex's definition of teachers as "Knowlege Workers", I know one thing - it is not my vision to teach this way. By neccessity, teachers need to be creative and use new technologies to do so.

But using technology in the classroom assumes a few things: kids need to have access to technology, most importantly, at home. Learning to use technology requires time, above and beyond free periods at school, beyond signing out media tools from libraries. Forgive me for not referencing this, but I read one estimation that 82% of kids have technology at home. I don't have data to support this, but I would argue that the real estimations for rural and/or poor students is considerably lower.

Per Alex's 9/13 post: The knowlege worker "...Establish[es] ideological identities: along with other cultural institutions--media, family, church,, etc.--education articulates our cultural identities through repeated hailing as boy, as girl, as white or black, as smart or dumb, as rich or poor, etc"

I would argue that using technology in the classroom has the propensity to label kids in the same way. I've experienced labeling first hand in ENG506 to my benefit - it's sensitized me to what poor, rural, or tech unsavy kids go through when they get into a class that incorporates use of technology. Consider the following labels:

Having left a lucrative career and husband, I am poor (which is relative to kids whose parents often don't have money to buy groceries, and believe me, they're out there!) In ENG506, I need to use technology; my mastery of tech is part of my evaluation. But to gain mastery, I need a mac, a microphone, a new camera, a video camera, and a usb key. All of these things are "cheap". Cheap is relative, though. I'M POOR.

The rural issue is another thing I identify with: computer resources in rural communities are limitted. Many kids can't get to computers available in the communities d/t transportation issues. The Tioga Co. Boys and Girls club is a prime example. The county is sprawled out with no public transportation. Kids who live in town can walk to the club after school to use computers, but if you live in the country, you can't access that resource. I have a very nice Dell in my home, but if I have to work on macs, think of me as a kid without a computer. I have to go to the lab. The only lab available to me that works is ... in Cortland. Like a rural kid without a computer, transportation becomes an issue. I'M RURAL.

Also, using technology in the classroom implies a basic working knowlege of computers. Do English teachers who use blogs, for example, spend time teaching kids basic skills of navigating the web? Of clicking and pasting code? Or are we assuming they have these skills? You might argue that every kid knows how to surf... but I would guess there are those that don't. ENG506 assumes I know basic things. I'm glad we're backtracking now - a true example of creative teaching - but for those teachers who don't, there is the most repulsive label of all: I'M DUMB.

As educators, we need to have a great sensitivity to the relative situations of our students, acknowlege the gliches, and trouble shoot before we implement technologies. Otherwise, students who aren't rich, urban and smart develop learned apathy, and fall through the cracks.

Drowning in Attention Anxiety

Reading Alverman this morning set my head spinning. Admittedly I had made the coffee a little stronger than usual so perhaps there was a biochemical component involved... but let's face it, to a digital imigrant, all of this information is mind-boggling. Not only do I have to learn new technologies (in particular, the Mac platform and multimedia applications in iLife) but I also have to market my own curriculum and compete with the entire flat world for student attention! Am I the only one who feels like there is an elephant standing on my chest?

Forgive my "imigrant accent" but somewhere along the line, doesn't someone also have to teach students to be able to focus their attention on something that isn't strictly for their entertainment? Prospective employers will not market for student attention, they simply expect it. Students are coming into interviews in camophlage (still not the accepted norm) and loosing out on jobs they may otherwise be qualified for. We still have to "put on the face" Dr. Stearns referenced in our first lecture. We still have to learn how to interface ... well, face to face. And be entertained. We need both technology and human interface.

With the hours of time I've spent online the past 2 weeks I can certainly see the economics of attention in my own life. Forgive me, digital father, for I have sinned... I have desired to unplug all of these young minds, clear their caches, power down and learn to focus on one present moment, being blissfully ignorant of the vast plethora of data. I like Richard Lanham's description of information in the new "information economy"... "WE ARE DROWNING IN IT." This is going to be my quote of the week.

Old Posts, Comments

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

"Listenning to the Natives" was a thought-provoking article. While I have never thought about how it pertains to technology, I do believe that our educational system is sorely lacking a respect for its students, their values, and their knowlege - which in many cases, easilly surpasses that of Digital Immigrants, such as myself.

However... I find a few things in this article inherently disturbing. Leading the pack:

"Students would 'vote with their attention' just as adults 'vote with their feet' by leaving the room when a presentation is not compelling. Why shouldn't our students have the same option with their education when educators fail to deliver compelling content?"
The fact is, even in the 21st century, not everything is "compelling". We still find ourselves needing to stay and listen to inept bosses, presentations we don't agree with, and needing to make conversation with mundane conversationalists in order to network. What is "compelling"? Being stimulated by technology at breakneck speeds is thrilling, but not all of the world is made of this level of excitement, even in this techno-era.

The following quote also makes me question why we need to study literature at all... after all, isn't it obsolete?

"Students should be studying 21st century subject matter, such as nanotechnology [and other subjects, all of a scientific nature]"
So I guess my major question of the night is: how do you make literature (and by this, I mean those dusty old books) "compelling"? I believe there are ways, some of them involving the use of camera and video... but one has to wonder - if we only need to speak IM, why bother?


posted by T.Jolie at 7:59 PM 6 comments

You don't make books compelling. Books make themselves compelling, in the same way kittens do ... just expose students to them and watch!

UNCLE RON

10:00 PM


kstearns said...
Just seeing if this comment option works Tamara. I agree w/Uncle Ron by the way. Although I do think teachers can model what it means to encounter a compelling read--and many of our kids today need that before they will/can engage. KES

5:18 AM


Steven said...
I love the way many of the dusty old books are a free read online!

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

see ya in class... let me know who you are...

-Steven-

6:48 PM


Dawn Larson said...
I was also confounded by that same statement as you, whereby if students feel bored they can digitalize themselves out of the classroom where their classmate is giving a presentation (or, where you are lecturing...).

Are attention spans so limited that students CANNOT sit for 40 minutes and listen to a speech/presentation? I mean who ever heard of NOT paying attention (or at least looking like it)?

Also, the article credits students with being amazing multi-taskers, so is he encouraging students to multi-task while watching a presentation?

10:24 AM


UNCLE RON said...
Teachers can touch/referrence a child's prior experiences with compelling reads ... use peer "pressure"/influence to draw out those in the class who HAVE exciting reading habits ... it's the rare class that doesn't have one or two ... and get a little "momentum" going ... this insight is simply to remember that the teacher is not the only "model" in the room, and doesn't need to bear the total responsibility for modelling.

10:17 PM


UNCLE RON said...
And, oh by the way, that "leaving the room" idea MUST be a thought-provoker, rather than a serious one. Students are in class to learn. If it's compelling, that's a bonus, but it's important that the relationship be clear: the student is there to work, not simply open a skull and expect knowlege to be poured in by an unfailingly compelling presentation. It's a two way street, and both halves have an obligation to scholarship itself to attend, physically and mentally, to the best of their ability and make every effort to do so beyond that ability.

10:20 PM



Imigration away from my own simple world of 35 mm film rolls will definitely be an adventure. I'm looking forward to hearing from Indigents and Imigrants alike.

posted by T.Jolie at 3:24 PM 0 comments