Work, Discovery, and PLNs' Adventures in Tech Savvy Teachers Course

Work, Discovery, and PLNs' Adventures in Tech Savvy Teachers Course
After two days of exploration and hands on development of wikis/blogs, including the exploration of selected Web 2.0 tools, our Tech Savvy Teachers deserved a break. We held a two day courseglued to computer screens most of the time, testing, searching, and communicating.  Participating educators were highly motivated and did not hesitate to dig in to new learning territory or advance their skills and awareness. As an instructor, in a perfect world, I prefer our learning to be structured differently, in smaller chunks spread out in time, but to meet the needs of a two day summer course, it inevitably comes down to some serious immersion in the information, awareness, and the "doing." Our "doing" focused on how we learn, and the understanding that our students have differing expectations in their learning process too. Below is my map of how I see learning for educators and their students

The Impact of Our Personal Learning Network

I take away a continued respect for our participants, knowing that more reflection and practice  remains after their work in class. They are asked to evaluate the appropriate methodologies and time for adoption in their own professional goals which ultimately impact their own students as well.

Personal learning networks get us started,  through subscribing to shared resources in blogs, podcasts, and twitter feeds. Why? Because networking with other professionals and planning for future implementation of Web 2.0 tools is a vital professional goal.  Build your PLN. Develop a personal Learning Network Action Plan as a guide for continued growth.

With some time away to complete assignments, I am confident that teachers will see some connections that will benefit them as individuals. Being tech savvy is knowing how to mine the web for connections to other wise educators that we can follow at first, then collaborate and share educational resources openly online. It's a whole new world available to us! I was pleased that our group helped each other with questions, in discussions, or "I'm stuck" with a technology tool. I am also excited about seeing good ideas and discoveries emerge, and shared accomplishments. There is so much to celebrate together.
Tech Savvy Teacher Particpants and other educators, what have you added to your personal learning network lately? How does it help you?

Voki: Speak Your Mind

This is a fun Widget called Voki. Put your thoughts to animation and sound. My persona relays the excitement and passion I have for learning in educational technology. The future in teaching today is so promising, given today's technology rich learning environment. Use Voki to speak for you. How do we do it in our own classroom/schools? What kinds of learning is going on outside our schools?

Following our Tech Savvy Teachers Class, I left with a new respect for the many considerations that educators must keep in mind as they introduce and implement learning through the use of collaborative, Web 2.0 tools. There were many great ideas gleaned from our discussions, and plenty of exploration and evaluation of the online, collaborative learning tools available to us.

Most importantly, I believe we all came away knowing that we can join and count on a community of learners to share, support, and co-publish information and resources. More lively discussions were heard around the use of Twitter in education, along with Blogs and Wikis. So much to learn!

I completed teaching a course in graphics recently. I got really excited about the multitude of graphic online Web 2.0 Tools available. One can take photos, upload them, manipulate, and share them. Here is an example of an architectural photo I took in the Czech Republic, altered in Lunapic. This is really fun experimenting with effects or filters that mimic results in high end graphics software. Is this an option to jazz up your sites? You might want to try it! Do you have other tools you could share with us?
http://www.lunapic.com/editor/

Voicethread: http://voicethread.com/
Browse these amazing audio blogs.
Here is a good example in using Voicethread
http://voicethread.com/#q.b577940.i3085807

The Flat Classroom Project, developed by Vicki Davis has fascinated and inspired me. It has continued since 2006. Davis's classroom broke down traditional walls, as students reached out to global partners in a collaborative journey of learning. Their project was named after and dedicated to Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. An overview of this project and ideas on stretching one's digital classroom boundaries Navigate the Digital Waters can be found at http://preview.tinyurl.com/2vztth6

Voicethread taps into digital learning styles

Assess Learning Through Video or Animations



This animation was cited at the Brave New World blog, the actual blog where it resides is Box of Tricks. Both authors share excellent resources in utilizing Web 2.0 tools to promote learning. Please offer these authors your feedback!
How can tools such as this assist teachers in evaluating student learning?

Barcelona the Playground

Here is a brief summary of this great destination and it's people and culture. This is created with the online Web 2.0 Tool Animoto. I am not endorsing this product, rather, it is used here to demonstrate the ease with which one can upload images, and create a short video. There are other tools out there to explore.

If you had 30 seconds to define a place you visited recently, what images would you include? 

Let me know if you think about my video.

It has been awhile, but we are back!
It is time to continue the discussions about visual learning through Web 2.0 tools.

Splashr: Flickr SlideShows
Please view the Presentation Sample here. I would use these presentation tools to spark a discussion around communicating through photographs. Concepts such as  special relationships, emotions, expressions, or cultural awareness could be discussed.

How it is done
These photos were collected through a concept of tag searching. I first searched in the Slpashr Tool, "Sad Eyes." This yielded an amazing set of  photographs in quality and expressiveness. Splashr allows one to search Flickr shared photos, using specific tags to pull together a collection of pictures as a slide show. Each photo slide has the artist's link beside the slide to click back to within his/her Flickr photo collection as an attribute of their works. A Splashr slide show can then be embedded in blogs or Web Pages such as this. Is this a useful Visual Learning tool? (This is not an endorsement but rather an example of one of many free Web 2.0 tools to support learning).
My Presentation (Right Click-Opens in a New Window)

Motivational Message Towards Creative Thinking: The Human Side from Steve Jobs
Here is a motivational message from Steve Jobs, given at a college commencement. It provides a very interesting perspective on how we see life, and how that can impact our accomplishments. It offers a personal side of learning, and being creative, which is, from my perspective, at the crux of any type of literacy, including visual literacy. The Creative Thinking Skills for Life and Education , Creative Thinking in Education, by Craig Rusbult,
This Web Site is an excellent start in learning more about using creative thinking in our classrooms.
Available resources, such as this YouTube video, can also help spark our colleagues and students in thinking about their own lives. The very fact that this video and many others, (that are appropriate for teaching and learning), are available at anytime through YouTube to share truly supports what we want to teach our students. What an opportunity in learning! Job's message is well worth viewing.

It is important to offer an educational framework or resources that support the conversations shared here about media literacy. It is hard to separate media literacy from visual literacy and learning. Yet, other media elements impact how we understand, interpret, and many times act as well. Here is my photo taken while on vacation in Spain. What is behind the purple door?

As educators, how can we magnify our message with digital media?

The Center for Media Literacy: states that "Media literacy is not a new subject to teach — but a new way to teach all subjects!" There is a vast amount of resources, studies, and writings that focus on media literacy. My perspective comes from teaching visual arts in the classroom, working with media and digital art as a creative, communicative tool, and from a passion to connect the "visual dots" in our awareness.
Here is a link to an excellent slide show that offers a complete overview presented by the Center for Media Literacy

Another rich source of information is the Media Literacy Awareness Network. The resources shared promote critical thinking in young people about the media.

Here is an example of highly creative visual storytelling. The fact that this video is shared to all who would appreciate it, where we can offer feedback to the publisher, is an amazing part of the media-packed, Web 2.0 world we enjoy today. Go to YouTube today, and give ozsezsu, the artist, feedback on his work. You can read other comments as well.

One thing to consider though, about this creative work, is the music. Is it copyrighted? I would think so. The dilemma in education is, how can we encourage copyright practices, when we see it being broken frequently? This is a good time to talk about utilizing creative commons work, and also copyright free music available out there, or, better yet, music that has been created by the artist. There will be more conversations about this coming up!

Verdi Traviata Choeur Bohemiens, YouTube, published by ozsezsu
Shared Post at: art teacher's guide to the internet

Construction Zone: Teachers creating and building Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts
I have heard from some very talented students today. Many have been researching the best practices behind educational technology, along with the potential of Web 2.0 tools. But their research was not wide open, rather they pointed towards a learning goal. They supported the use of the tech tools by grounding the technology with sound teaching practices. Students’ presentations were outstanding, and they ended up teaching each other the very concepts that I would later cover. They created some wonderful student products in the form of PowerPoint Presentations. Some wanted to learn more about technology tools that they could use in their classrooms and curriculum. Others wanted to learn how to publish, to develop a web presence. I was so excited that most did not hold back, that they felt it was very necessary to move into this Web 2.0 World. Barriers are realized, but students are seeing how their students can be engaged in blogging, in and outside the school setting.

Next stop, building their web presence/podcast. I am sure it will be amazing. The students are hungry to learn, and willing to step into new territory as they work. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to work along side this upbeat, hard working graduate group.