Journeys » web2.0

Moving Forward

dmcordell — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 23:47:04 +0000

Good news on two fronts: my MS/HS Principal told me that the Current Events students will most likely be allowed to have school e-mail accounts (the responsibilities of a good digital citizen will definitely be one of our first discussions!). Also, the District Superintendent has requested that I do a short BOE presentation, focusing on the goals of the Library program, in August or September.
These topics intertwine, as do my duties as a K-12 SLMS. If I can effectively convey this to the Board, it may well open the door to further integration of technology and information literacy skills within the core curriculum.

Perhaps the students themselves could appear before the BOE later in the school year to explain what and how they’ve learned. Our young adults would surely be very effective advocates for the technologies of what will be their future!

Advocating for web2.0 tools

dmcordell — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 00:34:35 +0000

spoke to a few students interested in taking the Current Events class next year
requested e-mail accounts for the participants and offered to explain and/or demonstrate educational blogs to the BOE
set up a class blog, with a few questions to stimulate class discussion (if necessary, I’ll type in all the comments myself and add the students’ initials) at cardinals.edublogs.org
need to set up another Google Reader account for news feeds, as a demo for students
set up a new Google Document also or show them one of mine?

Note to self: Be sure to read Will Richardson’s “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts…”
soon!

First Steps

dmcordell — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 23:01:14 +0000

Today I opened a new Google Document for the Current Events course. So far it contains lesson plans and news links I’ve found online, and a few educational blog postings (Joyce Valenza, David Warlick, etc.) on related topics, like student blogging and its potential for learning.

My next task will be to set up a model news feed in Google Reader. If the students are given e-mail addresses, I’ll have them open their own Reader accounts and choose what sources to include from the lists I’ve already bookmarked.

I requested that our class be located in the High School Computer Lab, which has the most up-to-date computers and an LCD projector. The Guidance Counselor promises to do what she can to help.

I’ve contacted the District Technologist, the Superintendent, and the High School Principal in hopes of getting my students e-mail accounts. This may not be possible, so Plan B is to have the DT create a class account for us. It wouldn’t be nearly as effective, but we’ll work with what we can get!

This is quite a departure from my comfort zone, scary and exhilarating at the same time .

A Challenge and an Opportunity

dmcordell — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 22:44:19 +0000

Yesterday I received my tentative teaching assignments for next school year (in addition to my duties in the LMC). I am now scheduled to instruct a mixed class of high school students in current events. I don’t have any details yet, but the high school principal said this scheduling is a direct result of my advocating for more 21st century fluency skills in our district. My hope is the students and I will explore – and master – things like podcasts, blogging, etc. The first hurdle will be to secure student e-mail accounts, at least for those enrolled in my class. If this can not be supported by our district technology, I’ll funnel everything through a class account.
I visualize this course as a combination of a traditional current events class (emerging issues, world economy, geography, politics, etc.) and library skills instruction (plagiarism & copyright, fact vs. opinion, media “genres”, effective research). Setting the kids up on Google Reader, would be one of my first steps. Blogs, a wiki, podcasts, video clips, might follow. A Zoho notebook publication would be the perfect culminating project. Or, perhaps, a videotaped news show.
If we are successful, I anticipate having my students function as instructors for other students – and teachers.

This blog will serve as an online professional journal, a repository for odd ideas and quirky facts, and a public diary, of sorts. I am, most definitely, a “Stranger in a Strange Land”.