Personal Learning Networks (PLN) 101: Twitter

So, you’ve heard that personal learning networks (PLN) are a good thing.

But, what are they?

How do they work?

How do I join one?

All good questions. If you are just getting started then you have identified some common questions and seem ready to begin.

Let’s start with one little social networking site. Twitter.

Twitter is an amazing tool. Used properly you have and endless stream of fantastic, free professional development and opportunities for networking streamed to you.

Example
A friend tweeted the link to this leadership piece. I opened it. Read it. Sent it to someone else. Now I will follow this guy and benefit from his thoughts and shared thoughts of others he “retweets” (sends on) in the future. I have taken it a little further by now linking his article into this blog post. He will be notified of this “ping back” and may check out my blog, comment on it, follow me on Twitter or retweet this to promote himself, simultaneously promoting me. Either way…

I have learned, shared and made connections to other educators. This is what PLN are all about.

The scary thing is that it NEVER STOPS COMING! Neither does my own demise but I don’t keep this happy little fact at the front of my thoughts. Having it there, however, I can turn on the faucet to check in when I feel the need.

More food for thought had by considering:

• LinkedIn
• Starting a blog to share
• Commenting on other people’s blogs (start relationships while you learn)

It’s easy to get started. Hey, check out my twitter feed RIGHT HERE ON THIS VERY PAGE. And follow me. I want to learn from you.

Check out my Tweetmap

The Flipped Classroom Model: A Full Picture

Reblogged from User Generated Education:

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Due to Khan Academy’s popularity, the idea of the flipped classroom has gained press and credibility within education circles. Briefly, the Flipped Classroom as described by Jonathan Martin is:

Flip your instruction so that students watch and listen to your lectures… for homework, and then use your precious class-time for what previously, often, was done in homework: tackling difficult problems, working in groups, researching, collaborating, crafting and creating.

Read more… 2,676 more words

The Flipped Classroom made highly accessible. Thanks for this great post Jackie. I felt compelled to share.

Flippit!

Data as Diet

“There’s no such thing as information overload — only filter failure.”
Clay Shirky

More here, click it…

Obsoledge

Much of what we’re transmitting is doomed to obsolescence at a far more rapid rate than ever before. And that knowledge becomes what we call obsoledge: obsolete knowledge. We have this enormous bank of obsolete knowledge in our heads, in our books, and in our culture. When change was slower, obsoledge didn’t pile up as quickly. Now, because everything is in rapid change, the amount of obsolete knowledge that we have — and that we teach — is greater and greater and greater. We’re drowning in obsolete information. We make big decisions — personal decisions — based on it, and public and political decisions based on it.

Alvin Toffler

Creativity is as important in education as literacy

If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.

Thank you Sir Ken Robertson

Learning that Matters

A post considering project and challenge based learning and their meaning in the context of technology integration.

But first, an epiphany…

By kristiewells: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristiewells/861225742/

Writing a post on project and challenge based learning experiences gives me the opportunity to share some thoughts on how important collaborative, self-directed learning is.

Another happy little outcome is that, without focusing on the all-important-topic of ICT integration, tech is slathered all over effective implementation of both. All of the discussion about seamless integration has been rendered moot in this context.

So, having shared this little insight (though really, a rather important realization for me) we can now turn to the matter at hand; learning that matters, right now, for the students.

Let’s Look at the Terms
One definition that Google produced for me was:

…we define Project Based Learning as:

a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning essential knowledge and life-enhancing skills through an extended, student-influenced inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks.
http://pbl-online.org/About/whatisPBL.htm

Contrast this with:

 Challenge-based learning (CBL) is a pedagogic approach for K12 education pioneered by education staff at Apple, Inc. that has its roots in problem-based learning and the work of John Dewey. The approach focuses on increasing student engagement. Unlike problem-based learning, CBL is a collaborative learning experience in which teachers and students work together to learn about compelling issues, propose solutions to real problems, and take action. The approach asks students to reflect on their learning and the impact of their actions, and publish their solutions to a worldwide audience.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge-Based_Learning

So then, if the one (CBL) is derivative of the other (PBL) with the important distinction of  identifying solutions in order to take action, then really this, from my perspective means two things:

1. It seems tailor made for the International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Programme, in which Taking Action is the ideal outcome of the units, and;
2. I can focus on PBL examples in order to further clarify essential elements of both aproaches.

Project Based Learning
Embracing both, or either, however, demands a large shift on the part of the teacher in terms of really believing in the students taking ownership of their own learning.

Connie Weber teaches at an independent school in Ann Arbor, Michigan

“For the teacher, there’s this giant letting go. Now, that requires some effort. I can see it in my mind — it’s me walking away, turning my back, going somewhere else, not allowing myself to hover. It’s me communicating, ‘I’m at your service,’ and, ‘May the force be with you.’ It’s me utterly and totally handing over the reins, come what may. The project is theirs.”
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-teaching-takes-practice 

On a personal note, I have found my own awareness of the perceptions other teachers to be another stumbling block when implementing PBL in a school unaccustomed to it.

So, in summation, the time for change is long overdue. It is not just because of the technology but mores because of it and its imp at on the world children are living in. To quote author, Alvin Toffler, in an interview about the institution of education:

Teachers are wonderful, and there are hundreds of thousands of them who are creative and terrific, but they are operating in a system that is completely out of time. It is a system designed to produce industrial workers.

The industrial revolution is over folks.

John Dewey image: Ron Houtman

I.C.T Benchmarks.......really?

Reblogged from Travis Ion - Read Review Reflect:

A learning colleague of mine, Mitch Norris, threw out a ripper of a comment at our last COETAIL (Certificate of Education Technology and Information Literacy) meeting at Yokohama International School.  Mitch, excuse me if I have misquoted, “If ICT is meant to be a tool for enhancing learning, then why do we have ICT benchmarks?” Pretty good point if you ask me, and one, it seems, I can`t let go of.

Read more… 300 more words

Thought Provoking stuff from Travis Ion

Canadian (Teaching) Ingenuity Meets Project Based Learning

Thanks to Neil Stephenson for this inspiring account of project based learning in action.

Integrating Tech Means More than Ticking Tech Boxes

ICT, IT, technology integration, 21st century learning… the list goes on. Whatever your position within a school, however “forward-thinking” you or your organization may be, there are a lot of terms out there and the list continues to grow.

Take a deep breath.

I am going to ask for a leap of faith here.

We are going to drop our egos, admit we don’t know everything, yes, even you who think you do! In order to move forward with the undertaking of meeting technology standards in an integrated model, or anything, things work better if we all take the Socratic stance of, “…all I know is that I know nothing.”

We all have more to learn and by adopting this stance we can move forward together as learners, encouraging those of us who need to feel a little courageous moving into the unknown.

It is instructive, since we are educators and familiar with terms specific to teaching and learning, to proceed as though we were devising a unit of study for a class. I will try to remain brief. This is an overview not a manual or a treatise after all. The implementation of any such venture, however, will take years to develop and will never be done. Ask one of those who thinks they know everything what the next three important technologies will be. Then enjoy the silence.

Now, let’s begin.

Checking for Prior Knowledge/Mapping Pathways
Where are we at, right now, as a school?

1. Define strengths and areas in need of further development
2. Map a strategy for continual professional development
3. Get everyone on the same page by starting with the basics. Do not rush into planning committees before everyone knows what the goal looks like. Invite stakeholders with more knowledge to be part of the process as presenters.

FOCUS QUESTION: Why integrate technology across the curriculum?

Tuning In
Once we have established why we should integrate, let’s take a look at how. Workshop time. Integration and planning focused staff learning opportunities. Everyone gets wet! Identify key areas of focus and invite staff to sign up for a range of workshops with the proviso that they come back, not as experts, but learners ready to share with the rest of their burgeoning Professional Learning Community.

Finding Out
Get busy applying in the classroom. Brainstorm in your teams where YOU think integration fits naturally to increase learning outcomes across the curriculum. Celebrate your successes, share your failures. An open, accepting forum will help to ensure everyone gets on board. Celebrate your failures. It will make you, your team, your school and your program stronger if you embrace attempting new things.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/google-wave-eric-schmidt/

Going Further/Taking Action (Though you never really stopped)
Ok, it is time. You’ve done your due diligence now you are ready to tackle tech through an integrated, articulated, vertical curriculum. There are a variety of great resources out there to get you started and keep you efficiently beavering away for years in the right direction:

• International Society for Technology in Education
• National Education Technology Standards (NETS)
• Partnership for 21st Century Skills
• Technology Integration Matrix

You can find an overview of how these resources can be used in concert here. I would also encourage you to keep in mind this definition cut and pasted here for your reference from The George Lucas Education Foundation’s Edutopia blog.

Effective tech integration must happen across the curriculum in ways that research shows deepen and enhance the learning process. In particular, it must support four key components of learning:

• active engagement
• participation in groups
• frequent interaction and feedback
• connection to real-world experts.

Effective technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is routine and transparent and when technology supports curricular goals. 

It is also Important to bear in mind that a wide range of scholars have argued that knowledge about technology cannot be treated as context-free, and that good teaching requires an understanding of how technology relates to the pedagogy and content.
http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/what-is-tpack/

Some Key Terms & Definitions in this Context

Integrated: The use of technology is embedded in the curriculum. Students learn how to use it as part of study in order to improve learning outcomes.

Articulated: It is clearly defined as to the wheres and whens in order to avoid letting the development of necessary skills to slip through the cracks. I would add a note here that any program of integration must be reviewed in an ongoing fashion and that where inspiration strikes teachers should never be told not to use a technology they feel strongly will enhance student learning because it is meant to be covered later. Documentation exists to serve student learning and not the other way around.

Vertical: The learning of technology in the classroom is considered throughout the years of schooling. Skills and technology that have been identified as necessary are covered at increasing levels of complexity, building on previous learning and skill development.

Victorian Education Learning Standards (ICT): An Excellent Example
Go to this site for fantastic exemplars.

Reflecting
As within our classrooms, this is a fundamental and ongoing part of the process. It should be continual at an individual level and shared for assessing current outcomes and revising plans for future movement at regularly scheduled meetings.

Some Parting Thoughts
Ok, now that’s all done.

Did I mention the part about student learning being best advanced through self-directed inquiry meaning your finely tuned plans are really just a wonderful skeleton around which student choice may turn them into mere phantoms?

Well, not exactly, having spent the time and effort to get this far, you are in a much more informed position from which to guide students through project or challenge based learning strategies should your school wish to go down those roads. Check out (again on Edutopia) Project-Based Learning Professional Development Guide.

Remember, the longer the road ahead of you, the more you need to keep looking backwards at all the ground you have already covered to keep up your momentum.

Your students are worth the effort.