Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators

Introductions Jeff Nugent joined Jeff and David for tonight’s show. |Essential Question| How do adults learn? David> See his blog post on which lists several factors we need to keep in mind when working with adult learners. And as with all learners, we must differentiate our instruction to meet their individual needs. Jeff> We need to think about the following question: What gets in the way of our veteran generation educators from going more public with their ideas and work? Take away from the discussion> -The forming of teacher cohorts focused around essential questions. Helps with feelings and fear of vulnerability. Building community, breaking down isolation. One might start with a book discussion then move into member offered topics and questions. -How to support educators in taking risks? -Form Professional Learning Networks (PLN) around different topics of interest to the members. -Sustaining engagement and ongoing support is key. -Creating a PLN and community in general is tougher in higher education. Having a physical and eventual digital space where folks can come together to form community is important. -Adult learners wanting to be self directed and sometimes are overwhelmed by 2.0 learning tools. -How do we support self-directed learning by minimizing some of the fear of leaving one’s comport zone? (Future EQ) -Pre-service teacher education programs are so important. Build on these young adults’ natural inclination to socially connect and collaborate. There is a positive side to their sometimes very public nature of our youth and their social networking sites. :) -What gets in the way of our older generation from going more public with their ideas and work? (Future EQ) Is this the nature of teachers? -Backwards translation of our (IT/ET leaders) being way out there in blogging, Twitter, wikis, etc. to engage newcomers and overcome their pre-conceived notions of what these tools are about. Blogs are an example of folks thinking that you use them to tell your personal information only. -Seeking to understand is central for the instructional/educational technologist. We are the “IT counselor” from time to time seeking to understand our teacher partners, their feelings about using technology and information tools and how they might take steps to find one or two that meet their needs. That human relation aspect of our job is huge. |Blog Posts of the Week| Jeff U: Webblogg-ed 2 Cents Jeff N: Connectivism David: Designed To Inspire |Sign Off|

• Next show is next week from the EARCOS conference in Kuala Lumpur. Refer back to this site and Jeff's The Thinking Stick main page for the date and time.
• Our guests will be teachers from around Asia.
• Essential Question for the show: How are you shifting?
• Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.

Introductions Jeff Nugent joined Jeff and David for tonight’s show. |Essential Question| How do adults learn? David> See his blog post on which lists several factors we need to keep in mind when working with adult learners. And as with all learners, we must differentiate our instruction to meet their individual needs. Jeff> We need to think about the following question: What gets in the way of our veteran generation educators from going more public with their ideas and work? Take away from the discussion> -The forming of teacher cohorts focused around essential questions. Helps with feelings and fear of vulnerability. Building community, breaking down isolation. One might start with a book discussion then move into member offered topics and questions. -How to support educators in taking risks? -Form Professional Learning Networks (PLN) around different topics of interest to the members. -Sustaining engagement and ongoing support is key. -Creating a PLN and community in general is tougher in higher education. Having a physical and eventual digital space where folks can come together to form community is important. -Adult learners wanting to be self directed and sometimes are overwhelmed by 2.0 learning tools. -How do we support self-directed learning by minimizing some of the fear of leaving one’s comport zone? (Future EQ) -Pre-service teacher education programs are so important. Build on these young adults’ natural inclination to socially connect and collaborate. There is a positive side to their sometimes very public nature of our youth and their social networking sites. :) -What gets in the way of our older generation from going more public with their ideas and work? (Future EQ) Is this the nature of teachers? -Backwards translation of our (IT/ET leaders) being way out there in blogging, Twitter, wikis, etc. to engage newcomers and overcome their pre-conceived notions of what these tools are about. Blogs are an example of folks thinking that you use them to tell your personal information only. -Seeking to understand is central for the instructional/educational technologist. We are the “IT counselor” from time to time seeking to understand our teacher partners, their feelings about using technology and information tools and how they might take steps to find one or two that meet their needs. That human relation aspect of our job is huge. |Blog Posts of the Week| Jeff U: Webblogg-ed 2 Cents Jeff N: Connectivism David: Designed To Inspire |Sign Off|

• Next show is next week from the EARCOS conference in Kuala Lumpur. Refer back to this site and Jeff's The Thinking Stick main page for the date and time.
• Our guests will be teachers from around Asia.
• Essential Question for the show: How are you shifting?
• Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.

Introductions

Justin Hardman and Chris Betcher joined David and Jeff.

|Essential Question|

How to expand the learning community to the parents?

Jeff> Look at your technology vision and plan to include the development of a school portal that provides the tools to make the components of your plan a reality.

David> See his recent post that focused on two themes. One being that schools should use their portal to build on current practices that are already in place to connect parents and expand the learning community. Making information access and communication digital definitely enhances communication opportunities. A second theme is to invite our corporate parents working in 21st century information-rich jobs to our schools to share their experiences and expectations what skills they want their employees to have. Their real world experiences can help in the shifting process as teachers connect what they are teaching to the real world assessments their students will be experiencing.

Take Away from the Discussion:

-The recent breakout of a virus in HK reminds us of the importance of schools having the capability to go virtual with a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

-Sharing of the myDragonnet online learning platform with three components: classroom management tool, curriculum mapping tool and electronic portfolio. Justin has many insights to share.

-Wetpaint as a very useful wiki provider.

-Value of individualization in developing VLEs by having a programmer on school staff.

|Blog Posts of the Week|

Jeff: Planning for 21st Century Technologies

David: Jonathon's Blog on VLEs

Chris: Clay's Wedding Always Learning

Justin: E-Framework Electronic School

|Sign Off|

-Next show is Thursday March 20th. Catch it live at 7:00 PMShanghai time.

-Our guest will be Jeff Nugent from the Virginia Commonwealth Univeristy. Check out his Techne blog.

-Essential Question for the show: How do adults learn?

-Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.

Introductions

Justin Hardman and Chris Betcher joined David and Jeff.

|Essential Question|

How to expand the learning community to the parents?

Jeff> Look at your technology vision and plan to include the development of a school portal that provides the tools to make the components of your plan a reality.

David> See his recent post that focused on two themes. One being that schools should use their portal to build on current practices that are already in place to connect parents and expand the learning community. Making information access and communication digital definitely enhances communication opportunities. A second theme is to invite our corporate parents working in 21st century information-rich jobs to our schools to share their experiences and expectations what skills they want their employees to have. Their real world experiences can help in the shifting process as teachers connect what they are teaching to the real world assessments their students will be experiencing.

Take Away from the Discussion:

-The recent breakout of a virus in HK reminds us of the importance of schools having the capability to go virtual with a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

-Sharing of the myDragonnet online learning platform with three components: classroom management tool, curriculum mapping tool and electronic portfolio. Justin has many insights to share.

-Wetpaint as a very useful wiki provider.

-Value of individualization in developing VLEs by having a programmer on school staff.

|Blog Posts of the Week|

Jeff: Planning for 21st Century Technologies

David: Jonathon's Blog on VLEs

Chris: Clay's Wedding Always Learning

Justin: E-Framework Electronic School

|Sign Off|

-Next show is Thursday March 20th. Catch it live at 7:00 PMShanghai time.

-Our guest will be Jeff Nugent from the Virginia Commonwealth Univeristy. Check out his Techne blog.

-Essential Question for the show: How do adults learn?

-Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.

Introductions Chris Betcher and Clay Burell joined Jeff and David. |Essential Question| How do we connect? Jeff> The Shanghai American School blogging system is set up so that whenever anyone logs in, he/she sees a RSS feed with the latest posts from the other student and teacher SAS bloggers. We often focus in the blogosphere on connecting outside of our schools for learning. We also need to find ways to build internal learning communities and this is one way to do it. David> Three ideas come to mind when thinking about how to connect. One is the way Kim Confino and Julie Lindsey build telecollaborative opportunities for students to connect to other learners around the world. When it comes to connect to this learning network, what hardware are we using to make the connection? Are we at the point of having a handheld device designed for the education market that allows for ubiquitous connectivity? And what about the thinking and learning that goes with students learning by making connections? See David's blog post for more reflection on these questions. Take Away from the Discussion:

• "Learning means risk taking." How to apply this to the hiring process to look for new hires who take risks.
• How to work within the school day to build in the opportunities for making connections. We need to structure time in the day where students can pursue their passions and collaborate for learning.
• We need to demystify and translate the names and learning purposes for many of our Web 2.0 tools so that new users can understand and not see them as so daunting to try.

|Blog Posts of the Week| Chris: Remote Access Clay: Re(Musing)ings David: Techne & The Far Side of Tech Jeff: Drupaled & WordPress |Sign Off|

• Next show is Thursday March 13. Catch it live at 7:00 PM Shanghai time.
• Our guest will be Justin Hardman from the Hong Kong International School. Check out his Blueprint: New World, New School blog.
• Essential Question for the show: How to expand the learning community to the parents?
• Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.

Introductions Chris Betcher and Clay Burell joined Jeff and David. |Essential Question| How do we connect? Jeff> The Shanghai American School blogging system is set up so that whenever anyone logs in, he/she sees a RSS feed with the latest posts from the other student and teacher SAS bloggers. We often focus in the blogosphere on connecting outside of our schools for learning. We also need to find ways to build internal learning communities and this is one way to do it. David> Three ideas come to mind when thinking about how to connect. One is the way Kim Confino and Julie Lindsey build telecollaborative opportunities for students to connect to other learners around the world. When it comes to connect to this learning network, what hardware are we using to make the connection? Are we at the point of having a handheld device designed for the education market that allows for ubiquitous connectivity? And what about the thinking and learning that goes with students learning by making connections? See David's blog post for more reflection on these questions. Take Away from the Discussion:

• "Learning means risk taking." How to apply this to the hiring process to look for new hires who take risks.
• How to work within the school day to build in the opportunities for making connections. We need to structure time in the day where students can pursue their passions and collaborate for learning.
• We need to demystify and translate the names and learning purposes for many of our Web 2.0 tools so that new users can understand and not see them as so daunting to try.

|Blog Posts of the Week| Chris: Remote Access Clay: Re(Musing)ings David: Techne & The Far Side of Tech Jeff: Drupaled & WordPress |Sign Off|

• Next show is Thursday March 13. Catch it live at 7:00 PM Shanghai time.
• Our guest will be Justin Hardman from the Hong Kong International School. Check out his Blueprint: New World, New School blog.
• Essential Question for the show: How to expand the learning community to the parents?
• Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.

Introductions Jeff and David go solo. |Essential Question| The SOS team paused tonight to celebrate the teachers in their schools who are making the shift. No philosophical discussion tonight, just concrete and practical instructional strategies. David: See his Lessons Learned blog post where he shares information about teachers from Hsinchu International School and Hong Kong International School. Jeff: Take a look at his links below from Shanghai American School. |Supporting Links| David's: HKIS Teacher Toolkit Best Practices Hsinchu International School Brent Loken of HIS: Using Geometry Sketchpad Examples of "Exhibitions" by HIS students Jeff's: SAS PE SAS Humanities Wiki SAS Humanities Culture Wiki SAS Teacher Blog SAS Math Teacher Blog SAS 7th Humanities Class SAS TOK Class Voki Avatar Creation and Voice Episode4 chatroom notes |Sign Off|

• Next show is Thursday March 6th. Catch it live at 7:00 PM Shanghai time.
• Our guest will be Kim Cofino from the International School of Bangkok. Check out her Always Learning blog.
• Essential Question for the show: How to connect?
• Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.

Introductions Jeff and David go solo. |Essential Question| The SOS team paused tonight to celebrate the teachers in their schools who are making the shift. No philosophical discussion tonight, just concrete and practical instructional strategies. David: See his Lessons Learned blog post where he shares information about teachers from Hsinchu International School and Hong Kong International School. Jeff: Take a look at his links below from Shanghai American School. |Supporting Links| David's: HKIS Teacher Toolkit Best Practices Hsinchu International School Brent Loken of HIS: Using Geometry Sketchpad Examples of "Exhibitions" by HIS students Jeff's: SAS PE SAS Humanities Wiki SAS Humanities Culture Wiki SAS Teacher Blog SAS Math Teacher Blog SAS 7th Humanities Class SAS TOK Class Voki Avatar Creation and Voice Episode4 chatroom notes |Sign Off|

• Next show is Thursday March 6th. Catch it live at 7:00 PM Shanghai time.
• Our guest will be Kim Cofino from the International School of Bangkok. Check out her Always Learning blog.
• Essential Question for the show: How to connect?
• Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.

|Introductions| Clay Burell joined David and Jeff all sharing their Chinese New Year experiences from Korea, Taiwan and China. Intro for Clay: Clay has taught language arts in the U.S., Europe, China and now Korea. He works to take "schooliness" out of his students' learning experiences. A big part of his effort is to help his students build personal learning networks (PLN). He is now running an elective PLN focused elective course so look to follow his students' learning via Clay's Beyond-School blog. |Essential Question| Passion for learning, how to nurture and grow it? David: See his blog where he shares about his son's passion for learning and what contributes to it. Jeff:

• Finding passion in our students
• Learning needs to have meaning
• Learning needs to be authentic
• Learning needs to be deep

The SOS Team Discussion: How to give credit for the engaging work that students want to do outside out of class? How to substitute the learning the kids are doing on their own for the prescribed classwork? Student 2.0 writing blog that Clay initiated and continues to draw readers. Here is an excellent example of passionate learners working outside of the classroom. Success for Clay in creating authentic learning where passionate learning takes place: A student interviewed Clay as a minority person living in Korea. It was recorded for a podcast. It ended up being newsworthy and drew the community in to access the student's blog and continue the discussion. Barriers for Clay in helping his school make the shift: Students in our high schools are often so trained in a ways that get in the way of thinking laterally and making connections that we have to "unteach" them. To create their own projects and follow their own ideas doesn't come easy. "Give me something I can do quickly and get out of the way" is often the way our high school students operate. They often are not willing to take risks. Conclusion: We really need to start in the elementary to build a learning environment that doesn't take the passion away. Clay's PLN class involves each student completing a project of personal interest that they research and then blog/podcast/vodcast about weekly. They connect to Twitter to build out their network finding people who can help them with their research. Clay finds this process to really support his hope that his students will become networked learners. Take Away from the discussion: One approach to shift a school is for your instructional technologist to start the year working with early adopters the first third of the year and to then move to the middle range adopters the next third of the year and to focus on the laggard group at end of the year. It is imperative to have the instructional technologists work with groups of teachers during the school day to get buy in from the teachers. After school doesn't work due to scheduling problems. Think about bringing in subs for a whole day. This really validates the process. Get the technical lessons (e.g., how to run a blog, use Skype, etc.) in first to remove those barriers. You can them focus on the curriculum and adapting the instruction and assessments to meet 21st century learning goals. Teachers looking to start blogging should think about using them as their portfolios and as a way to communicate to parents and to share classroom content with students. This is a triple winner that gives teachers a real reason for using the tool. We want our students to be like trapeze artists following the flow of information moving from say Twitter to Skype then to IM then to producing one's learning on a blog from where the conversation continues as readers comment. Go to deeper level with our curriculum. The learning must be authentic and relevant. The kids demand it. |Blog Posts of the Week| Clay: Networked learning can be playful and fun at Ideas and Thoughts. David: A home schooler shares her blueprint for passionate learning at Karen's Blog. Jeff: Look for rich visuals and brain-research supported posts as well as the "User Hierarchy of Needs" at Creating Passionate Users. |Sign Off|

• Next show is Thursday February 21st. Catch it live at 7:00 PM Shanghai time.
• Our guest will be Justin Hardman from the Hong Kong International School. Check out his Blueprint: New World, New School blog.
• Essential Question for the show: How to expand the learning community to the parents?
• Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.

|Introductions| Clay Burell joined David and Jeff all sharing their Chinese New Year experiences from Korea, Taiwan and China. Intro for Clay: Clay has taught language arts in the U.S., Europe, China and now Korea. He works to take "schooliness" out of his students' learning experiences. A big part of his effort is to help his students build personal learning networks (PLN). He is now running an elective PLN focused elective course so look to follow his students' learning via Clay's Beyond-School blog. |Essential Question| Passion for learning, how to nurture and grow it? David: See his blog where he shares about his son's passion for learning and what contributes to it. Jeff:

• Finding passion in our students
• Learning needs to have meaning
• Learning needs to be authentic
• Learning needs to be deep

The SOS Team Discussion: How to give credit for the engaging work that students want to do outside out of class? How to substitute the learning the kids are doing on their own for the prescribed classwork? Student 2.0 writing blog that Clay initiated and continues to draw readers. Here is an excellent example of passionate learners working outside of the classroom. Success for Clay in creating authentic learning where passionate learning takes place: A student interviewed Clay as a minority person living in Korea. It was recorded for a podcast. It ended up being newsworthy and drew the community in to access the student's blog and continue the discussion. Barriers for Clay in helping his school make the shift: Students in our high schools are often so trained in a ways that get in the way of thinking laterally and making connections that we have to "unteach" them. To create their own projects and follow their own ideas doesn't come easy. "Give me something I can do quickly and get out of the way" is often the way our high school students operate. They often are not willing to take risks. Conclusion: We really need to start in the elementary to build a learning environment that doesn't take the passion away. Clay's PLN class involves each student completing a project of personal interest that they research and then blog/podcast/vodcast about weekly. They connect to Twitter to build out their network finding people who can help them with their research. Clay finds this process to really support his hope that his students will become networked learners. Take Away from the discussion: One approach to shift a school is for your instructional technologist to start the year working with early adopters the first third of the year and to then move to the middle range adopters the next third of the year and to focus on the laggard group at end of the year. It is imperative to have the instructional technologists work with groups of teachers during the school day to get buy in from the teachers. After school doesn't work due to scheduling problems. Think about bringing in subs for a whole day. This really validates the process. Get the technical lessons (e.g., how to run a blog, use Skype, etc.) in first to remove those barriers. You can them focus on the curriculum and adapting the instruction and assessments to meet 21st century learning goals. Teachers looking to start blogging should think about using them as their portfolios and as a way to communicate to parents and to share classroom content with students. This is a triple winner that gives teachers a real reason for using the tool. We want our students to be like trapeze artists following the flow of information moving from say Twitter to Skype then to IM then to producing one's learning on a blog from where the conversation continues as readers comment. Go to deeper level with our curriculum. The learning must be authentic and relevant. The kids demand it. |Blog Posts of the Week| Clay: Networked learning can be playful and fun at Ideas and Thoughts. David: A home schooler shares her blueprint for passionate learning at Karen's Blog. Jeff: Look for rich visuals and brain-research supported posts as well as the "User Hierarchy of Needs" at Creating Passionate Users. |Sign Off|

• Next show is Thursday February 21st. Catch it live at 7:00 PM Shanghai time.
• Our guest will be Justin Hardman from the Hong Kong International School. Check out his Blueprint: New World, New School blog.
• Essential Question for the show: How to expand the learning community to the parents?
• Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.