Blogging Withdrawal

I've decided to just keep blogging all summer! I joined a digital photography RSS today. I also sent my lesson plans to Anwatin Goes Digital by cut/pasting the lsn plan template into Google Docs and then sent it that way! Way to go, huh? and it was easy as well as efficient! Keep reading all summer long!!

Thing 4

Thing 4 - Going Deeper: Online Productivity Tools"

Wow, who would have thought about a calendar with the ability to show real people's faces looking up, down, to the side, etc. No wonder Jeannie D. or "Information Woman" chose this for her calendar. Up until this year, just jotting down a grocery list, list of cards to purchase, etc & stuffing it in my purse or pocket was fine with me. Well now everyone can have their own customized home page. I personally liked igoogle best simply because I use Google all the time almost exclusively for everything I do even though Netvibes is the most popular while Pageflakes is the main competition of Netvibes. I used to use Yahoo most frequently, but gave that up some time ago. I haven't decided yet if I will make igoogle my permanent home page. My current home page is the MPS one. At school as I mentioned previously, the HIA web page is the home page. I do like to see the current temp and weather forecast. The current daily world news is also very interesting as we teachers never get to listen to the news. I could see myself using the calendar although my experience with the online calendar at HCL has been less successful. We have to go through an entire time consuming process to check the availability of a date for the meeting room whereas b/f we could quickly flip open a schedule book to check. None of us like it; it's not working for us. Our new head librarian has taken to printing out the weekly schedule to make it more manageable for us to use! I think the County should look into another online calendar that would make for sense for our needs. Come to think of it, an online calendar that could be color coded for both schools & the HCL job would be ideal. Back in the day when each of our 3 children had 2 summer sports I would hand write out the color coded calendar. That was quite a feat, I only delivered the oranges to the wrong playing field once! At this point in my life w/o an ipod I think the "To do Lists" would be too much work. I could very easily revisit this "Thing" at a later date. I think students would really do well with online assignment calculators. Having a pop up message about an upcoming due date would not only help the student be better organized & more prepared, it would assist the teacher's planning & not being a nag. Paper assignments can be lost or misplaced; some of my students claimed to have lost their entire folder whereas a student can always go back and look up the assignment on the computer. Students could quickly check their "to do" lists b/f class just as they do with their gradebook.

Thing 3

Thing 3 - Going Deeper - RPC & Dribbling Lessons
I have gone over the Research Project Calculator previously in depth and should have blogged about it at that time. I can see how using the RPC which I will do next year, can and will make projects more manageable. Yes, there is an overwhelming anount of information to go through and work with. I think that's why I "skipped" over this "Thing" previously. I have looked at Fact Monster, Google for Educators, CIA World FactBook and have made rubrics using Rubistar. I have worked with other educators in my Hamline classes making a presentation on using Moodle in the classroom. In the past 5 years I have used graphic organizers to help students organize their information and try to keep it straight. What used to be easy about teaching research was that I could teach each reference book in context; you know, ency., dictionary, almanac, include copyright and citations. Now looking back, that was easy. What's difficult now, of course, is that there is just so incredibly much information out there, how to organize it and use it to meet one's purpose and needs. The RPC gives structure, form and deadlines to a project. By following the 5 step model students should be able to be successful in their research process. What is hard for me now is that my students are new to America & find these sort of assignments more difficult to process. The students who have further advanced English skills translate for me so all students can be successful. The RPC will help me be better organized as an instructor. Once my students learn an online skill, they can really move with it to produce outstanding projects. I have found that technology is a universal language. My students even without English skills are much farther advanced technologically than students I have worked with in other buildings. I can explore the additional sites listed under "Do" in this "Thing". I will definitely use Google docs to make managing research projects easier for me as a teacher. In the past I have purchased Dr. David Walsh's Media Literacy materials & have used them to teach Media Literacy. Our district also purchased a unit for Media Specialists to use a number of years ago that I still use parts of. Every school in the district received these materials, which of course are stored at school now & I don't remember the name of.

Thing 23

Thing 23 - Teacher Web Page. All MPS staff are required to have a web page. John McC is the teacher for this class in MPS. My web page, which I just looked at, needs to be updated again. The address is: http://hia.mpls.k12.mn.us. Look on the left hand side under "staff information" for my name. Mr. Lyfu runs our website. He has done a fantastic job. I want to add some suggested summer reading to this page as well as the media standards. Our students love looking at our HIA web page. Our homepage comes up automatically upon login @ HIA. Oftentimes if we have 5 min. of free time or during ALC, students can be seen reading about the teachers or looking at the pictures. Students are very proud of our school. I need to learn how to link my web page to my blog like HIAMATHMAN did. Pertinent, up-to-date information needs to be on a web page, general knowledge that students & parents need to know is also very helpful.

Thing 22

Thing 22 - Online Learning - If there is one thing I have learned this year, it is about Online Learning! If I don't know a definition I can quickly open a new tab & go to wikipedia or an online dictionary and look it up! I agree, I do have new tools I can use to find information. I can read articles online, put them into my delicious acct, or just bookmark them, I can share them with co-workers, I can blog to other MILI participants about them, I could make a story about them, & you're correct, I know I can do it w/o FEAR! I didn't have the time during the school year, but as a lifelong learner, I continue to learn. It doesn't matter if it's during the summer, late at night or early in the morning; as long as I have my laptop, I can do anything! I have come to depend on Atomic Learning, I learned about Educause in this course & the "7 things You Should Know About" series (I've printed some of them out) and I really like how easy to understand the Common Craft (I think that's the name) video snipets are. I can research a product online, I can pay bills online, I can purchase online, my life is truly changed because of my laptop. I even used Flickr in Maureen M.'s Digital Storytelling class and know how easy that is to use. I feel that I'm a success even though I wasn't able to do everything during the school year. I will be able to take what I've learned & use it successfully next year. Thank you.

Thing 21

Thing 21 - Podcasts & Podcasting - Our podcasting guru in MPS is Mike W. I took a PC class from him last summer & had to make a short PC. We also used podcasting last week in our Destiny Sandbox class with Diane W-R wherein we made a book review using flip cameras and then put it in our Destiny Library catalog. I will continue with this medium but currently find myself more comfortable with GarageBand and am currently working on iphoto. When I am more confident with those 2 mediums I will revisit Podcasting for more intensive work. My middle school students will definitely LOVE podcasting. I do not subscribe to any podcasts on a regular basis but will definitely continue to work on my 23 Things throughout the summer.

Thing 16

Thing 16 - Electronic Portfolios - I am currently in the middle of an efolio unit right now. We started the first day we were able to go back into the lab after testing for most of the 4th qtr. We only had 2 days in the lab all quarter b/f school was out but most of my 7th & 8th graders were able to set up their efolio.mn accounts. I am really fortunate as the school year @ my building does not end in June. Almost all of the students attend summer school. It is a refreshing, hard working attitude on the part of our students that makes them such a joy to work with. We will continue where we left off working on our efolios. I have taken 2 courses from our District expert John McC which have been very helpful. Efolio was changed to a newer version that I don't think is as easy to use. I do have the beginning of an efolio made to use as an example for students. I think electonic portfolios are vital for students today. They change buildings or districts often, we no longer have paper resources & students can work on building their portfolio throughout high school giving them a finished product which to use to apply for colleges around the state. Efolio is the way to go!

Other Things - Thing 14

Thing 14 - Comic Creations - We have briefly used Comic Life in middle school. I worked to supplement a unit done by our Hmong Literacy teacher, Mr. Lyfu, this year. Graphic novels are wonderful for my students, they hold and engage students' interest, they are easy to read which is extremely beneficial in a school where the majority of the students are ELL; & they are at a middle interest level. Although I must say, the students @ HIA are very good about reading "I Can Read" books as they work through their journey of English acquisition as they are all in the same place. It is not unusual to have them check out 2 I Can Read books & 2 graphic novels. Two books for English practice & 2 books for reading interest. Needless to say, the Comic Life assignment was a great hit with my students. I also really liked the part about not having to worry about inappropriate content. One must consider that we constantly teach values about what is acceptable and what is not in America. Many of our students had never been to school their entire lives while living in the camps in Thailand. I will delve deeper into the resources given us in Thing 14 over the summer.

Thing 9 Revisited

Thing 9 Going Deeper: Copyright & Creative Commons...Sorry I fell asleep before I really commented on Creative Commons. According to the article by Educause Leaning Initiative at www.educause.edu/eli Creative Commons is "an alternative to traditional Copyright". After reading the article I realized how much easier CC is to use than traditional copyright; trying to reach elderly authors who may not use email, waiting for the reply, or not receiving one at all. All of this can take weeks or months by which time the project will be over especially with the law that copyright exists 70 years after the death of the work's creator. In general CC allows copyrighted materials to be shared which benefits all education, allows instructors to "think outside the box" on how to include previously copyrighted materials into their coursework & allows for the freedom to make derivative works providing new and different opportunities for previously unavailable work.

Thing 10

Thing 10 - Going Deeper: Digital Storytelling - At first I thought digital storytelling was like making Reading Rainbow book reviews with the video camera that we had so much fun with 20 years ago. But as I read further I realized that DS is actually similar to a very short play. Digital Storytelling tells a personal, real life story of a person or a group of people. The Wikipedia definition states that DS: "is an emerging term...that uses new digital tools to help ordinary people tell their own 'true stories' in a compelling and emotionally engaging form. These stories usually take the form of a relatively short story (less than 8 minutes) and can involve interactivity." Jeannie D. is the DS guru in the MPS district; she has taught this course for 2 years now. I learned form the Educause article "Seven Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling" that most users are not professionals, but rather just common everyday people and that DS is another way for people to share their stories in the age-old oral tradition that has evolved throughout time. "Telling stories...teach(s) beliefs and values to others." DS is another way for students to creatively express themselves. I looked at all three of the digital stories in Thing 10; Myths & Legends, Awesome Stories, & Our Story. I realize there are innumerable more. I have not used digital storytelling in my teaching. All of my students have stories to tell of either their or their parents and grandparents coming to America. It would probably more efficient & effective to have students tell their stories in their native Hmong Language. I could work collaboratively with Mr. Lyfu & Mr. Thao the Hmong Literacy teachers. I find this to be extremely interesting and will pursue it with both these teachers. Digital Storytelling has the potential to be extremely powerful. More & more people are visual or don't understand English, but can watch an 8 minute presentation & understand it. My problems with DS would be time and have the necessary equipment, but I'm looking for Grants to apply for. Working in conjunction with the Hmong Literacy class would give us more time. Our labs are usually full, lab time is an issue as well.

Thing 9

Going Deeper: Copyright & Creative Commons. Copyright is huge as evidenced in the recent downloading trial of a Minnesotan woman who says she is being sought out, picked on & used as an example in Court. Whether that is the case or not, copyright MUST be discussed & taught in context in schools beginning in the primary grades. Students must be taught what is their thinking as opposed to other people's original thinking. After reading the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education by the Action Coalition for Media Education, media Education Fdn, NAMLE, NCTE & Visual Communication Studie Div. of the Intl Comm. Assn, I rerealized the importance of embedding the teaching of copyright with the media literacy unit. I have relearned just how important an awareness of copyright is as well as just how open the fair use policy is. Educators can pretty much do whatever they choose as long as it's in the name of "education." I think that's why the idea of copyright has fallen by the wayside until this particular court case recently came up. According to the article a defn. of fair use is: "Law provides copyright protection to creative works in order to foster the creation of culture" (page 5) of the Fair Use article. Along with that: "Copyright law does not exactly specify how to apply fair use, & that gives the fair use doctrine a flexibility that works to the advantage of users" (page 6) & "fair use is flexible, it is not unreliable" (page 6). Most users are educators and they act in "good faith" in order to teach these policies to students in some shape or form. "Fair use" would be considered for all forms of media. I found this article to be extremely helpful. I am thinking I might want to incorporate parts of it in my teaching next year in reference to this recent court case even though that wasn't for educational purposes.

I also looked at the Creative Commons site but thought more about the Learning Commons we attended on 6/19. I'm still mulling all this over. I'm beginning to understand why it is important to "share" our work with others for the use of common background knowledge & learning but as a new user, I haven't sorted it all out yet. No I haven't ever had any experiences with copyright issues. My first thought was legal and scary, but after reading the article I realized just how unlikely that would be and how "copyright education" ... "has been shaped by the concerns of commercial copyright holders" (page 14). The code of best practices "is shaped by educators for educators & the learners they serve, with the help of legal advisors" (page 14). This must be taught to students, even though one might not like to teach it as it involves the law and it's not the most interesting subject, but students are more responsible for their own learning in the 21st Century. We have a moral obligation to make students aware of this so the recent court case doesn't happen to them.

Thing 8

I know I need to go back to revisit Things 3 & 4 as they were more difficult for me, but I decided to move on to the Things I know more about. Thing 8 Going Deeper: Databases & Online Resources. I use the HCL databases almost daily. What I like is that with more frequent use I become faster & more skilled at digging deeper to find the info. that my patron (now with new admin. customers) needs. I usually work with the high school students and their project or report is always due the next day! So after a search of the catalog or paper reference materials that I know quite well after 35 years of use, I show them how to use the online resources/data bases. Students don't really care at that point, they just need the information & they needed it yesterday. So I walk them through the steps, help them choose the search terms and then go through the articles. I show them how to check the box so they can email the articles to themselves at home so they can get home to get to work to save their grade. If I am lucky enough to have a time frame of a week or 2, I take the patron to a terminal and walk them through the procedure so they can be more independent in their use.

At school we go to Online Resources on the MPS Homepage. I project the steps on the mounted projector and we work through the datebases unit by unit. For ex. we use the African American registry in Jan. & Feb. Students especially like looking up who was born on their birthday. They can find a more current person that we don't have a biography for. We go to Culturegrams for state & country reports. We can dig as little or as much depending on the grade level of the students. I begin using online resources in 2nd grade. I want this process to become 2nd nature to students so we use it often. First graders like to go to Tumblebooks Library to listen to a story. Then they enjoy taking the little quiz and playing the puzzle or fill in the blank game. We also do an animal report using World Book online. Next year I will include more of the MPS data bases in my teaching. We didn't have time to explore them all. I have learned now that I can email the database contributors with suggestions to make changes for easier use. My view of data bases has changed. I see them as user friendly tools to use to make student understanding easier and more compact. Often we don't have up to date written materials or enough materials for everyone to use. I remember just a few years ago, the paper copies of Culture Grams. I would xerox them back to back. Now we also have more efficient use of resources. We can just read the information online and not have to have paper copies at all. Students can readily revisit the site for additional or supplmental information. I can't wait to go another step next year and have students email me their assignments through Google Docs. In watching how others from MILI have used the Web 2.0 tools, I learned how much more efficient this method is! It makes teaching so much more fun for the teacher too. It is empowering. Online Resources are an invaluable resource in these budget restricted times. They are a necessary part of the curriculum. I would be lost without them.

Thing 7

Sorry, about the typo in the previous post. I do think. I who thought I wouldn't have a thing to blog about felt blogging withdrawal when MILI ended at the end of the school year. I actually felt guilty when I didn't blog for a time period. If I had made more time, I could have worked my way through the "Things" at a better space, but I am used to focusing and putting the pedal to the metal when I must. I want you to know that even though I had a slow start, I am learning like crazy now and intend to continue learning and growing. The best part is that we now have SO many things we can use with students. They really and readily take to the new Web 2.0 tools like ducks to water. These many examples and lessons will make my life easier, more organized & efficient, more applicable to students and on and on. Students will be more engaged and responsible for their learning. What I have learned the most is that I can learn as much or as little by learning on my own time on line. The learning never quits. Just think how my life has changed in the past 15 mo. since I received my laptop from the TILT Grant. It is incredible! I can work late into the night or early in the morning. I can revisit these modules, use them in class, etc. I hardly ever go to a search engine other than Google. I remember teaching "search engines" as a unit to the 7th/8th grade classes @ Jordan Park 4 or 5 years ago. We tried different search engines, looked up information, checked the number of hits, followed the cookie crumb trail to the answer, chose which one was more efficient, seemed to give the most information, etc. Now for my own personal use as well as teaching, I just use Google. I used to use Yahoo & MetaCrawler at time at work at the public library. We all use Google now at the public library. For quick, simple answers I use Google; for a book search I use Amazon.com in order to get the correct author or title or date so I can continue on with MnLINK to find the book, or where it is located. We are just barely touching the tip of the ice berg. My mind is boggled with overload for just what Google contains. I really like Google for Educators and will make a point to use that more frequently. I can also go to the Google Help Index for assistance. I mean really, all of this is just as Ann commented to me one evening after class that I just need to read. Well, Ann I'm reading & learning now! Thx for the opportunity. I will never teach the same way again. I'm trying to gain knowledge by leaps & bounds. I can't wait to blog with my students, to use digital photography, to have students record book reports on Flip cameras & upload them into Destiny to share with other students. Learning really has come a long way. We are not along up date burning the midnight oil. We are online, taking responsibility for our learning & sharing it along the way to fine tune and make it better! Thing 7 over and out!!

Thing 6

Yes, I thin that using Google Docs can improve my productivity because I've been busy this past week trying it - better late than never, right? Time was not on my side this school year. I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep as my laptop, looking back I also think I was afraid to try the tools, which I see now was really stupid as I was holding myself back and also that I was just plain overwhelmed with the amount of work of being assigned to 2 extremely demanding buildings. It was as if I had 2 full time jobs! So that said on to Thing 6.

This past week I took Maureen from Anwatin's class on Digital Photography as well as Diane W-R's class on Destiny Sandbox. Both used tools from MILI. I also attended the incredible 3rd Annual Metronet Information Literacy Conference on 6/19/09: Transformation from Within: Creating a 21st Century Learning Commons. Where was I the previous 2 years? Good question, now that I know about this annual ILC I will make a point to attend it. So hearing about the tools, watching the tools being used, gently pushed to use the tools has all helped to get me going. I've watched the utube "Google Docs in Plain English" 4 times, I've practiced sending msg. to Maureen as this will be the format we use for writing our paper & I've read many articles. The biggest factor for me in using Googledocs will be saving time! The new home is on the internet, not the computer so I won't have to waste time managing articles, or emails. I can have students email their assignments to me, I can mark them and get them back for revision. I would be paperless & there is a secure home on the web. Googledocs can also be used for spreadsheets & presentations. I am currently using Goodledocs in my digital photography class as well as will be using it this weekend for my skill set paper to Ann, Diane W-R, & Jeannie D.

Included in Googledocs are blogs & wikis. Of course we blogged in MILI this year. I have been involved in the media wiki and most recently this past week in the Destiny Sandbox class. We also used Edmodo for questions & short comments. I am thinking that a wiki replaces moodle? perhaps and that this is an online version of the old "parking lot" concept we always used in building staff development & TAP for listing comments or concerns on a bulletin board for staff sharing. I have not created a wiki but who knows? I may get so good I can for my middle school students.

I'm remembering when we first learned about wikipedia & how appalled we (media specialists) were by it. Now we use it all the time and don't think a thing about it! Thus I feel I have successfully navigated my way through Thing 6.

Thing 5

Can you believe it? Only Thing 5? I just didn't know that this past school year would be so incredibly horrible! I can't believe I basically achieved 2 full time jobs by being .5 @ 2 schools! Both buildings were extremely demanding, but with varying needs. Anyway on to Thing 5.

I've had lots of experience with Thing 5 as a 28+ year .3 employee of HCL. I have loved public libraries my entire life, since my big sisters would put me in the stroller & we'd go to the St. Anthony Park Library, down Eustis St. Hill and along the St. Paul sidewalks to the lovely Andrew Carnegie building. We spent many summers hours there. As I got older we would bike down for the afternoon and then stop @ Miller's Drug for a cherry coke, that is if we were lucky enough to have a dime. So when my kids were babies and we saw the new Brookdale Library being built in 1980 I thought it would be wonderful to work there as I was mothering at the time. So I applied for an evening & weekend position, which of course no one in their right mind wanted; & I got it. Thus began my public library career.

Currently public libraries in general are struggling to maintain service that everyone has come to expect. I would make sure all staff have the same level of customer service, which is my specialty & which by the way, I won an award for in the year 2000. It was the Customer Service Award of all things for HCL. I can't tell you the number of times I have heard another librarian say "No, we don't have it" & that ended the reference transaction. I also have customers say to me too many times to count, that they aren't used to the excellent service that I have provided. They're not used to someone working so diligently to find what they are looking for.

I couldn't have survived teaching for 29 years w/o the public library. Every new book. book on tape, audio tape &/or video I used was checked out from the library. When I needed to do a graphic novel unit, I checked out 35 graphic novels. When students want to read a book we don't have @ school, I check it out for them at the public library. I also assist teachers with their units by doing research for them using materials from the public library. The library has been an invaluable resource for me through the years & continues to be as well. I have even purchased sets of used encyclopedias for use at my school! I couldn't have survived on the northside of MPS w/o having used the public library.

No, I haven't used MnLINK with my students, but I have used it for teachers. Time is a factor, what I have found very useful this past year in particular, is being able to search in Destiny, our Follett circulation system for materials not readily available at either of my buildings or the public library. More often than not, a building in the district has just what a teacher wants. So I have been able to supplement curriculum in that way.

When students have a research project assigned, they need to know they must ask me for help immediately as timing with ILL's is such an issue. I can tell them if a book is in another local library system and can go to the system directly to try to access the book; which I have done quite successfully at times.

I use MnLINK weekly @ the public library. A big part of our job is training customers so they can work independently. I do get frustrated at times with all the searching. As a .3 librarian I don't often have the opportunity to attend training as regular staff does, so I miss out on alot of it. The tutorial will be extremely helpful. Thank you.

Exciting Day on the St. Paul Campus

Did I mention in my previous email that this was an absolutely energizing fantastic conference? Everything discussed today applied to me and my position as a MPS Media Specialist. I should say applied to ALL of the MPS media people who attended the conference. The 2 guest speakers were absolutely fabulous! You know, I don't think I have been giving myself enough credit. I think I'm right on the edge of using the web 2.0 tools to radically change my teaching. Actually I think I have been moving in increments for the past 5 years when I started @ Jordan Park. My previous teaching methods simply didn't fit this northside K-8 building. I also hadn't taught middle school b/4 so I needed something "new" and more applicable for these high energy, low reading ability students. They needed a "hook" which I did find. But what we learned today is way over the edge so now we can help all learners win. I really like assisting them in managing their own information spaces. It was so fun to see how engaged the students were from both urban and suburban settings. They could readily explain what they had been doing too. I can't believe I hadn't in 35 years every heard of the periodical Teacher/Librarian and will subscribe to it immediately. I've been working too hard I guess. I need to not take myself so seriously. I have also been working Thing 2 today. I continued with some of the online work by looking at other blogs. I'm just making all of this too difficult for myself. I need to get reading some more! Thank you for a terrific conference - oh the food was outstanding as well. Very tasty and delicious, all for $40. unbelieveable...

Transformation from Within: Creating 21st Century Learning Commons

Well, here we are again, learning in the summertime! We are at the U. of M. St. Paul campus today kiddy corner from where I became the Florist's daughter, learning about turning our teaching 180 degrees! And boy will I! I have been inspired by both Sandi Zwaan and David Loertscher. Wow, at break I'm going to see if I can buy the books! More in a minute....we're going on break now.