Our first discussion: Just post anything related to the videos you liked the most that I asked you to view in the Welcome to the class bulletin at http://lone-eagles.com/social-welcome.

 

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Learn NING by playing around.  I've not added any content, yet, but you can explore topical nings in your areas of interest at ning.com and many are very advanced in their development and used by lots of busy teachers.

Frank

 

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Wow - what a world out there -  I was intrigued when I read a blog from Steve Johnson on Edutopia.  The focus was social media in education.  Among the information that he had collected and stated, I really appreciated the following:  "We need to stop talking cyberbullying and start talking cybercitizenship. Flip to the positive."  Social media is here whether we are ready or not - I personally am not, which is why I am taking this class!

The TED videos were powerful.  I was surprised how much I was taken by them.  Eric Whitcare's Virtual Choir of 2000 Voices was moving.  Sugara Mitra's 'Hole in the Wall' was amazing - but the one that got to me was Salman Khan's Let's Use Video to Reinvent Education.  The simple concept of 'flipped classroom' makes sense.  Having the students watch the lecture as homework and let the work happen in class.  Having students interact and work with each other and the teacher is meaningful and essential.

Interesting I had seen many of these videos previously as friends and colleagues had passed them along. As a music teacher I of course enjoyed Eric Whittaker very much, I watched it all the way through even though I've seen that Ted talk several times.

As a self taught photographer in my other time I have witnessed and been part of the same phenomenon described with the dancers. I started with reading instructional books 20 years ago but when I discovered the online forums, wikis, flicker, and blogs I found the mother load of information, feedback and creativity.

One gripe I have with all of the presentations is a general feeling like I'm being sold something (khan academy for example). To sell it they have to belittle the current status of education. They do it with anecdotes that resonate with the audience, they resonate because like the audience they are examples of things done in education 15-20 years ago, yet presented as if its still the norm. The truth is, at least in my school, we have been teaching for mastery, using peer groups, sharing, data logging, on and on for some time. Much of what is presented as a revelation in teaching practice discovered by technology is really simply Best Practice known and already employed by effective educators everywhere.

Please don't get me wrong. The tools and powerful delivery of content that the social media and tech provide are very exciting, they should supplement our teaching not replace it.

I found two videos that were listed very insightful and have got me thinking and researching on several different things.  The first that got me thinking was the "Networked Students and Teachers and the second is the "Changing Education Paradigms".  Thanks for posting those and getting the creativity for a better classroom going.

Overwhelming with all that is out there. One video that stuck out for me was "Did You Know?" I look at my 8-year-old daughter and how quickly she has picked up using the laptop, the ipad, my iphone....  thinking about where the internet was when I started teaching in 1996 (I took a distance delivery class about how to use email) to today is mind boggling. And when you think about how quickly things are moving...  mind blown!

Looking forward to exploring more in this class and how I can make my classroom relevant to my students in this ever-changing world.

I really enjoyed the virtual choir videos.  What a fun experience for those involved and great idea.  I kept thinking about how much time must have been involved in all the editing and logistics of getting that all put together so beautifully.  That is the main challenge I encounter when working with technology with students.  It can take so much time to get something created that the point of the lesson/project ends up getting overshadowed in all the logistics and details that technology/computers/media create.  

I enjoyed the 2000 Voices Strong video.  What a great way to join together people from all over the world that have a passion for the same thing--and seeing them bound together through the use of technology.  I never would have thought of building a "team" in such a manner. 

I found the Industrial Internet fascinating also.  I cannot comprehend how different our world has become with the widespread use of the internet.  Putting sensors on equipment that allows the piece of hardware to self-monitor and determine when maintenance is due is an amazing concept.  I am only beginning to understand the impact of the internet and technology on our world around us.

The video that I have chosen is "Do you know?".
I watched this video for the first time a few years ago at the ASTE (Alaska Society of Technology in Education) conference, in Anchorage, AK, and I thought it was a WOW moment. Indeed it was a clear declaration of the fast pace of the changes that we are undergoing, as for technology influence and presence in our lives.
Watching this video now is quite powerful because while the message is still true and strong, the media and the facts presented are the proves/victims of this fast evolution, and they are indeed already "scaringly outdated". Today for instance most people barely remember 'MySpace", while Facebook is the unquestionable worldwide presence as for social media.

What does this mean to me? Well as an online teacher this means that the world moves at a very fast pace, while the educational wagon moves veeeery slooooooow, and that the discrepancy between the 2 world is getting more and more evident. WHow can we expect to prepare students for today's world if we require them to disconnect form most of it when they are at school? These days classrooms and schools are equipped with technology, however the way it is often used is an "old stile" very passive, which does not really help developing real life contemporary skills in our students.

I see this clash in students enrolled in my online classes and the challenges that they have in using technology in a productive way.
I really hope that our educational system will soon understand that there are some changes that are definitely required starting from how the teachers are formed, for better prepares our students for the world out there.

In my little world I am trying to give my miniscule contribution pursuing a PhD focused on Best Practice for Language Acquisition via E-Learning. My hope is  that this research could help finding some strategies that could be implemented by language online teachers so that our students could receive an high quality learning experience even from distance.

Emanuela

Whoops!  I posted this under my "status". 

I had a strong connection to the video about crumby internet.  You can really never depend on using the internet at school for instruction, which can be incredibly frustrating.  I can go in on the weekend, plan fantastic lessons that incorporate all sorts of awesome websites, only to go in on Monday to find the server will be down all day.  Or worse, the internet will be spotty all day and no one seems to know why. 

The crumby internet video showed me how to download low-res videos, which gives me another option when planning.  Sometimes I don't have time to embed videos to a presentation.  It's nice to have alternative options.   

Social Media Revolution Two was super interesting.  A colleague of mine pointed out recently that it doesn't matter whether or not we like certain modes of communication.  It's here; it's not going away; and kids are using it.  It is our job, especially at the secondary level, to teach them to use it judiciously.  Use their power for good, so to speak.

I enjoyed the virtual choir immensely.  Amazing! The other videos were all very interesting.  The info graphic concerning how educators use social media is not at all surprising.  Some of my best friend are involved in higher education and the need to stay current with the skills and direction of the students is very necessary.  The "crummy internet" offering is very familiar. I've gone down that path way to many times over the years.  Melinda had good points concerning innovation and Coca-Cola.  The hole in the wall project confirmed what I've seen with school children for years.  I've observed similar responses to technology ever since I had apple2's in my class 2 decades ago.   

I think the two videos that I enjoyed the most was the Khan academy, that is pretty amazing to e- I shared the link with my older daughter since she sometimes struggles in math, and then the 2,000 voices- again a great use of technology, I am hoping by the end of this class that some of the uses will no longer be black magic voo doo to me.  I have a pretty steep learning curve though.

I watched Salman Khan speak before, but I enjoyed hearing about his mind mapping, and the historical steps in his Ted Talk that led to what is now considered to be one of the most powerful educational tools out there, Khan Academy.

Sugata Mitra's talk was also very powerful. I hadn't seen his talk before, but I know I've heard about his experiment. I'm wondering if it was an article featured in Education Leadership or something along those lines. Information comes in all directions these days so who knows! Getting joy from students with regards to technology is not that revolutionary, especially poor children who have never seen technology such as that. This is not surprising. I think the more important message that he is making is that they can be in charge of their own learning, and they can do it with very little guidance.

This is directly correlated to competency based education in many ways, but most importantly, educators must realize that it isn't about what he, she, or me teaches, it is about what is learned, and the avenues we have available to support the learning have exploded. Educators must realize that what is on Pg. 323 in a textbook is irrelevant to many students because they can google it, and learn that material, in many cases, in no time and with little help. Those students who do need the support and help can also benefit from the mass resources that go way beyond the single teacher in the classroom.

Also, a KEY message from all of his research is that technology is NOT just being independent learners or creating environments where humans work alone. In fact, it's the opposite because as he stated, most of his research supports collaborative learning environments as a key to improving learning results.

Ted Talks in general is revolutionary to what it is doing for idea sharing. I find that sharing Ted Talks, especially the ones that are anything less than 6 minutes, are a very powerful teaching tool.

Thanks!

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