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[Frank Odasz]

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.

 

You are invited to +add a discussion and to explore the many features of Ning for consideration for use as your own full-featured K12 social network.

Please start a new discussion forum, or contribute to one if others have already created them.

Your leaving a message here is required for lesson one.

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

 

[Frank Odasz]

Laura and everyone, at http://ed.ted.com are free online tools to mashup and/or edit TED talks into your own videos of any length.  And the Jing tool is how each of you can do for your learners, what Sal Khan did.

Collaborative learning environments = if we all share what we know, we'll all have access to all our knowledge.

The open education movement is a global trend to watch http://atlas.edupunksguide.org/

At issue is will everyone be willing to become both learner and teacher, both consumer and producer, creating and sharing openly as members of a global learning society?   Teaching the love of learning might be our core goal.  Trends suggest 40% of Internet use is unlimited movies via Netflix.

If learning were fun, instead of work that potentially threatens our self esteem, things might be different?

The times they are a changin'    and In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, Eric Fromm

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[2v5lqc8y6nzas]

Thanks Frank, I didn't know about editing the Ted Talks so this is going to be a great tool for me. I might do something with that for my final project.

[Frank Odasz]

Watch the short video tour at the site, noting most sites now have a short intro video.

Mobile learning, mobile commerce, weebly.com has apps to create websites for Iphone and Ipad

I'd love to see you do a final project with http://ed.ted.com

Too Cool!

Frank

[Ashlee Copper]

It always seems like TED has the coolest videos, so it was nice to have an excuse to watch some of them! I ended up either Skyping links for most of them to my husband or at least just telling him about them because they all touched on such interesting ideas. J

Since we are a family of musicians, I really appreciated Eric Whitacre’s virtual choir. I liked how they even had the comment from the Alaskan bush in there! When you are so isolated, virtual connections can be REALLY important. It is great that you can obtain a sense of belonging from a virtual group of colleagues.

Probably my favorite video was the one with Sugata Mitra and his “Hole in the Wall” experiments. It was amazing to see such evident proof that children could actually teach themselves to use a computer, without even having a pre-existing concept of how it was supposed to work. This really shows the great potential that students have to teach themselves – not only technology skills, but all kinds of knowledge – when they have access to technology.

I thought that Melinda Gates’ video was interesting. If Coca-Cola can use creative solutions to find a way to get things done, why can’t we?

I really enjoyed seeing Salman Khan’s video. I have been advocating using Khan Academy to our teachers, but we keep having YouTube issues. We are working on a solution to get access back to filtered YouTube, which should hopefully resolve those issues. Although I have seen pictures of Salman, I have always wondered what his motivations were and what kind of person he was. I was really excited to hear that this started as a way to help his younger relatives – great motivation!

Chris Anderson’s video was interesting as well – the thought that video is encouraging others to “step their game up” without actually telling them that through the “cycles of improvement.” Online video is creating all kinds of new innovations that didn’t exist previously because of individuals emulating with they see and making their own new unique improvements upon it. It was quite alarming to see the big explosion of video growth that there has been. Since blocking video websites seems to be a common trend in school districts, particularly those with low bandwidth issues, it is a little disheartening sometimes, but it also helps make the case for upping bandwidth limits and unblocking video streaming. I liked the examples he gave for how video can be more effective than print. While I like to “keep it simple” when possible, there are definitely times when video is more effective than print. Seeing what they were doing in Kibera was really inspirational and thinking about all of us as teachers and not just learners in a fairly new, but really crucial shift in thinking. “Who’s the teacher? You’re the teacher!”

Rachel Botsman’s Collaborative Consumption video has really stuck with me. I keep thinking about how you don’t really need a power drill…you need the hole that is made using the power drill. My husband and I have always talked about purchasing property someday and living there with several extended family members and sharing resources. The idea is intriguing to me, but scary. As Americans, we are so used to having our privacy, and thus used to privately meeting our needs without much family intervention. Although living together would more effectively meet those needs, it is still a whole shift in thinking that I am still struggling a little bit to make!

I discovered the wonderful world of MOOCs last year. Although I haven’t used Udemy as much, I signed up for several Coursera courses. This was another type of shift – having your papers graded by other students and having to learn from your classmates instead of your teacher – but it was a great experience and I learned a lot. I have been working with our HR department to help get a system set up where teachers can take courses through pre-determined MOOC providers in order to earn PD hours.

Jing is something that I haven’t used in a while, but I definitely need to get back to using. Although I am currently serving several schools, they are all either on the main campus or just across the street. Because of that, it is much easier to show teachers how to do things on the computer in person than when I worked in the bush, but it is still nice to have a repository of tutorials and help videos available 24/7 to teachers. Jing is also a resource that would be great to show teachers how to use with students. My 7^th grade daughter actually uses Jing all of the time for different projects. She had an assignment that was due yesterday for creating a “how-to” presentation. Students got extra credit for creating a video to embed in their presentation, so she used Jing and iMovie to create a video showing her using the program featured in her how-to presentation called MMD (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvzuiYP-wPM). For the most part, she completely taught herself how to use all of these programs – I just help her install them!

I believe I have seen either the “Social Media Revolution 2” or the “Did You Know?” video before at a conference, but they are still crazy to watch and think about! One of the points of the conference speaker was that America’s strong point is in creativity and that we need to be teaching students to teach themselves how to do things and encouraging creativity, or they are going to have a really tough time making a place for themselves in the future global job market. Although that sounds scary, it is a reality that educators need to be planning for!

[Mike Taras]

I liked all the TED videos.

The most amazing one I think was the Khan Academy video with the flipped classroom and online learning community. I wish I had something like that when I was struggling through school.

The video with Sugata Mitra -the hole in the wall experiment- was also mind blowing. It was truly amazing to see these children learn so much with no teachers help at all. To study this and to expose it and create new learning opportunities for children is very powerful. Completely shocking to a lot of people I'm sure because it reveals that children can learn so much without a teacher.

[Gary Jacobson]

Eric Whitacre: A virtual choir 2,000 voices strong

An allegory for all social media, the dissonance and harmony of this piece sounds like the connectedness we all feel when we reach out for one another on the internet.  We are disassembled, looking to join together, and often we're looking for that one common purpose.  It may be an interest or a passionate cause.  We may be contributors looking for a place to expend our energies, or we may be agents of change, rallying followers to join us.  The progressions don't always resolve as we expect them to, and it always requires more "takes" than we may have expected, but human nature proves out, and we strive to make one glorious sound together.

[Kimberley JoAnne Knight]

Hello all, just a non-lesson comment about living in Southwest AK - A volcano erupting, subsequent ash fall and the an earthquake... all in one week! Exciting!

[Katie Harrison]

As I just finished my Master's in Online Curriculum and Design, I had seen a lot of the videos in my previous online classes.  A few of them (like "Did You Know", the Sugata Mirta talk, and the Khan Academy) I like so much that I have shown them in professional development classes. The videos on the Welcome page that I found the most fascinating were the ones that involved the intersection of creativity and technology. I am very interested in the concept of creativity as I feel that it is very important for all people to be involved in creative activity of some sort. Therefore, I loved Eric Whitacre's "Virtual Choir" talk and Chris Anderson's "How Web Video Powers Global Innovation". Chris Anderson really confirmed my beliefs that a motivated person with an internet connection can teach him or herself just about anything. I was intrigued by Mr. Anderson's idea that the openness of the internet encourages global innovation, like the evolution of dancing or Google Translate. I find this really cool. 

[Joshua Kaufield]

The TED talks were something new for me. 

The most intriguing video for me was Chris Anderson's "How Web Video Powers Innovation".  I thought the video of the guy on the unicycle helped demonstrate how a person can both innovate and emulate through Web Video.  He can innovate by demonstrating fancy moves that other riders haven't seen, and he can also be challenged by watching new moves from others who post videos as well.  

Web Video has definitely helped increase the speed of innovation - we can both challenge and be challenged in our various talents and skills at a more rapid pace.  For example, over the last month, I've increased my snow machine maintenance and repair, outdoor survival, boat maintenance, and video editing skills simply by watching a few youtube videos as I've been working on projects :-).  Next month, I'm planning to learn how to hang some drywall and I'm sure I'll have some help from a web video or two. 

[Brinna Wojtalewicz]

Of all the videos, Eric Whitacre's was my favorite. When I think about the amount of time and patience that took - the passion the people had to make it happen is incredible. I am not a singer - I don't particularly enjoy my singing voice and have just never had the drive or desire to improve. BUT, music is a huge part of my life. Certain pitches, words, beats and songs give me the goosebumps. I read an article on it recently: http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/turns-certain-personality-type-get-ch... Within that article there is a YouTube video that contains a song that frequently gives people goosebumps (those who experience goosebumps in relation to music). That song interestingly did NOT give me goosebumps. 

Getting back to digital literacy - most of our students can navigate an electronic device 10 times better than a radio. That does not mean, however, that our students don't need to be taught how to safely and appropriately use devices and the internet. It also doesn't mean that they know how to use it in a scholarly way. We expect students to be able to type a paper - but typing a paper is not texting or posting on Instragram. Many of them have never had keyboarding skills and have absolutely no clue how to format. The tech coordinator at a school I worked at used digital learning through videos she made to teach students how to format in word, create charts and graphs in excel and navigate Google Apps. I think that this form of learning is excellent - but it is not for all students just off the bat. They need to learn HOW to watch the video, play with whatever they're being asked to learn to navigate and refer back to the video if necessary. Many of them skip around and don't have the patience to watch a complete video. I've also noticed students clicking around nonstop to the point of not being able to undo whatever they did. I learn through clicking and trying things - but I don't allow myself to go down a rabbit hole that I cannot get out of; I also know when I need to seek help. If we want our students to be digitally literate, we need to teach them how to be, teach them how to use the tools and teach them how and when to ask for help. The possibilities are exciting, overwhelming, endless and ever-changing.  

[M Maas]

I suppose since I'm a music teacher that it follows that the Eric Whitacre virtual chior TED talk would be my favorite. I love the idea of using the internet to collaborate musically. It would be interesting to connect with other musicians or music teachers to see what we could come up with. I especially like how international and varied the singers are. I often show interesting music videos at the ends of my music classes, in an attempt to show the kids the myraid possibilities out there with music. I will add the Whitacre videos to my playlist. I like that whatever race and gender my students are they will see many reflections of themselves in the virtual singers. As well as that some of them have clean rooms, some messy, some clearly high SES, some low. As Whitacre said they're such intimate little videos that can say a lot. But all of them are part of the choir and equally important. I ventured further onto YouTube and found his other videos, looks like there are at least five virtual choir videos now. The most recent all-ages choir is heavily produced with synths, electronic drums, extensive use of soloists, and 8,409 videos total. I feel that with this one Whitacre's reach may have extended his grasp. It is impossible to show that many videos and have them be big enough to make any real connection, and it feels less like a choir of people from all over and more like the choir part is an afterthought. Still, it's a really neat idea and I'll keep an eye out for more musical collaborations over the internet.

[Lacey Libbey]

Watching the TED talks was a great way to  jumpstart the lessons in this course. I noticed my husband was listening while I have been plugging away at these talks in my spare time throughout this past week. The talk I felt was the most inspiring was The Hole in the Wall experiment in India and beyond by Sugata Mitra. I have witnessed first hand the power of learning and the impact that technology has on learning but this experiment was truly profound. It shows that technology can transcend language, that even the remote areas of the globe can be connected and that the web is a place where meaningful learning happens. I believe the granny cloud has so much potential. There is something very special about grandmotherly support and this TED talk shows that even grandmothers that speak different languages can still support children with love, patience, and encouragement. I love that this dynamic reinforces that the older generation has much to contribute to this world and that lifelong learning is thriving with a little help from technology and the internet. When you mentioned in the description of this video that, Most youth need a minimum of five adult mentors to encourage learning, and the 'the love of learning.' I have never heard that statistic but I can see in my own life how true that is. The mentorship and connection between the older generation and young people reminds me of these two news reports I saw over the past year.

Here is the story of Dan Peterson and his new, 4 year old buddy Norah.

A More Perfect Union, CBS News

The next story is about a nursing home and a preschool that share the same building in Seattle, WA.

What happens when a nursing home and a day care center share a roof? PBS News Hour

 

Both of these stories illustrate the need for connection across generations. I see so much potential for learning to happen in these environments. I am unaware of an effort locally here in Wasilla, AK to tap into the potential for programs with our senior citizens. Folks around here that are retired do have time as a resource and certainly a love for our community and the next generation of children. Wow, my wheels are turning....

Have any of my fellow classmates been involved in programs that connect senior citizens with school districts and classrooms? It could be web-based or face-to-face. Frank, have you had this experience with Alaska Native Elders.

The other TED talk that I would like to mention is the Melinda French Gates: What nonprofits (and for-profits) can learn from Coca-Cola. It could be my background in Business Education but I love what she had to say in this talk. I believe we have much to learn from the best practices in business and that we would be selling ourselves short as educators if we do not at least research what works in industry and see if it can apply to our classrooms. The theme of aspirational marketing has potential in so many areas like Frank mentioned in his description of this video. I believe aspirational marketing can work to help students with career choices as well. Some of the videos I used in my Accounting classes that sparked interest were provided by the AICPA, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. They put together a series of videos to highlight the diverse careers in accounting for example, an accountant for a major NFL team, for major film productions in Hollywood, or even a forensic accountant for the FBI! Aspirational marketing works well in the classroom to showcase potential for exciting and dynamic careers in something like accounting that can often be viewed as bland or uninteresting. It is one of the fastest growing career fields in the US and is an excellent industry for students to consider but if we don’t inspire then students will not aspire. Career exploration is just one example but like we saw in the TED talk, there are numerous areas where this method can work, particularly entrepreneurship, in Coca-Cola’s case.