Barb's Reflection

I wrote about my biggest takeaways from BLC10 here: http://barblcohen.edublogs.org/2010/07/26/blc10-reflections/

10 Tips for Managing Information Overload

On this final day of BLC10, I thought this might be a good blog post to read:
http://novemberlearning.com/10-tips-for-managing-information-overload/

Anyone else feeling overloaded?

Liz B. Davis & Lisa Thumann - Twitter Session

Using Twitter to Establish Your PLN

Dean Shareski - You or Google?

You or Google? Who Controls Your Identity

(this session looked similar, so I included it too):

Life on the Screen

Dean Shareski - What Can You Do With 4 Billion Photos?

Here is the handout rom Dean Shareski's AWESOME session on using Flickr today: http://bit.ly/flickrblc10 -- below are his slides from the presentation.

I'm already a big fan of Flickr, but he gave lots of great ideas about ways to use it with students. He also made a big pitch for signing up for Flickr Pro, which at $24.95/year seems like money well spent.

What Can You Do with 4 Billion Photos?

Visual Media Links

my morning session was given by Michael Lambert who teaches at a christian school in china. He has become a visual media specialist through his years as a language arts teacher, doing a lot of combined multimedia word and image projects. He had many tried and true links for accessing visual media online. some are listed below...of course i have many more written down too.

• cagle.com (editorial cartoons)
• itubegrabber (pull videos from youtube so you don't have to be connected to internets to playback)
• flickerstorm (www.zoo-m.com/flickr-storm/) this is an incredible image search tool
• pond5.com/ (royalty free stock video, sound effects and music)
• http://www.droppingknowledge.org/bin/home/home.page (this site is all about asking questions, and gaining multiple perspectives)
• inmotion.magnumphotos.com (library of more than 100 short web documentaries/photo essays)

Jeff Utecht - Blended Learning Environments

Rachel and I attended Jeff Utecht's session on Blended Classrooms this afternoon. Jeff is at the American School in Bankok, Thailand. Here's a link to his handouts: http://wiki.thethinkingstick.com/page/Blended+Classrooms

Jeff shared the video below to illustrate how education will be shifting to include online education, and that many of our students (and children) will attend part or all of their college courses online!



A highlight of the session was when he broke us into groups of 4 and gave us 10 minutes to complete an assignment based on one of 4 scenarios. Here was ours:

Assistant to CEO: You are an assistant for a CEO of a large company. She has just approached you with the following task. “I have a meeting in 15 minutes with a perspective new client named Mint.com. I know nothing about them! I need you to research the company for me and have an e-mail in my inbox in 10 minutes with the run down of who this company is and what they do, and the potential for growth in the market in which they operate.”

Rachel and I worked with 2 other BLC participants from Arkansas and within 10 minutes we came up with a rather thorough run-down of the product, which we were then instructed to email to Jeff. It was amazing how much we were able to collaborate and accomplish and learn in the 10 short minutes! This would be an easy assignment to adapt.

He also discussed how his students in Bankok each have a blog that follows them as a digital portfolio throughout their years at the school. He wrote a post about overcoming our fears about students publishing online here: http://www.thethinkingstick.com/overcoming-our-fears

Michael Wesch Keynote Notes

This morning's keynote by Michael Wesch was truly transformative. I was fortunate enough to see Michael Wesch TWICE in one month! First time was at FinalSite U in Avon Old Farms, CT.

Here are the two videos he showed:




And here are my notes from the first time I heard him speak:

Morning Keynote - Michael Wesch, Kansas State

• http://www.mediatedcultures.net
• Students are seeking meaning & identity
• You have to go out and find these things because they're not taught
• We need to convince students that search for meaning is not something you seek, but something you create. Turn them into meaning-makers
• Pay attention to questions students are asking
• Great questions lead you on a quest
• Students were asking questions like "Do I need to know this for the test?"
• How many like school? 50% of hands were raised
• How many do not like learning? No hands went up
• There's something in the air...WiFi access literally
• We need to move from knowledgeable to knowledge-able
• It's not just info literacy or critical thinking --Communication, Empathy, Thoughtfulness
• Did fieldwork in New Guinea
• Villages completely off the grid
• Completely "unmediated"
• Experienced ultimate loss of identity
• Identity and recognition there is given -- everyone you meet, you now. Not here
• When writing came into his village, there was no "opting out", like technology here
• Media Ecology: Every medium creates certain possibilities and takes away others
• Media mediate relationships -- media change, relationships change
• Living rooms changed when TV came -- furniture had to face the tv
• Conversations controlled by the few, consumed by the masses
• Neil Postman -- Amusing Ourselves to Death -- Brave New World or 1984?
• A Brief History of "Whatever"
• Generation Me - Jean M. Twenge, PhD (kids go through a "Quarterlife Crisis"
• Yes, we need "critical thinking" around media, but now we need something more, like "participatory thinking."
• "Information Literacy" is too short-sighted
• User-Generated Content, User-Generated Filtering, User-Generated organization, User-Generated distribution, User-Generated Ratings (digg, delicious, rss feeds, etc.)
• New Commerce
• Rent anything: Zilok
• Swap anything: Swaptree
• Dove's beauty video was responded to with a video about Dove's use of Palm oil. 
• Changed the company. "Dove campaign for real beauty"
• When you do something like talking back to Dove, it's more than Information Literacy
• If you type "pwn" inside of youtube you can download the video (http://deturl.com)
• weforum.org vs. we-forum.org (created by 2 guys called the Yesmen -- try to reframe people's identities) fake WTO site, would be invited to major news programs
• new media = new forms of control -- students need to be aware of this
• Shawn Ahmed
• walked out of Graduate School...and to Bangladesh
• He recreated ngos with the Uncultured Project: http://uncultured.com/
• Music
• OPSound -- http://opsound.org/
• Eric Whitacre - online conductor conducting choir of singers on Youtube
• Ushahidi Kenya
• During an uprising, citizens could sign up for alerts using street maps...networked together about what's going on
• Tufts students used it during Haiti earthquake to take in 200,000 messages and ort them
• Classroom chairs should turn so they can face each other to discuss
• Antiquated idea = to learn is to ACQUIRE information - "nested epistemologies"
• Power corrupts. Powerpoint corrupts absolutely - Edward Tufte
• "The opposite of compulsion is not freedom but communion" - Martin Buber

MCDS BLC10 Team Dinner

The team met for 'dinner and debrief' of the day at Pairings restaurant. I considered this the 'extra session' of the day where we could all share our experiences of the day. An abundance of tips and tools to concrete real world uses of what we were exposed to during the day. Having a team at an event such as the BLC is paramount to successfully capturing what is available and what directions are possible. Being able to 'gnosh' through the pros and cons and gaining perspective from everyone in the team was energizing and invigorating. And then, there was the food and spirited conversation!

Wesch at BLC

Barbara was right. He is a great speaker.

This is a video I could see us showing to the faculty at the start of the year, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g

Okay, so yes, this group should be prepared to talk about what we did, what we saw and what we conquered (Okay, Hutch that's for you!) while at the BLC!

KM


another great video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ehGLqzBVM

Alas Media

These presenters were super! I took away some tips for imovie, as well as some ideas for photojournalism that you can use across disciplines. In particular, I loved the idea of going out into your community to document community events.

Check out their websites:
www.alasmedia.net
alaslearns.com

They are also presenting again today, Thursday, at 12:45 in the Terrace Room.

4pm General Session Wednesday afternoon ADORA SVITAK

Leadership from the Ground Up: with a grass roots approach
who are the "influencers'? at school

Why don't we let kids lead more?
Who says adults have the market on leadership?

This is a young woman/girl (not sure about age)

innovation
leadership

leadership =

clear vision
courage
inspiring others
willing to take risks
responsibility
listening
guiding
making tough choices

amazingly poised speaker

she published a book at age 7

she is now a TedEx Redmond organizing speaker

http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2010/04/19/announcing-tedx-redmond-youth-planned-youth/

adults can learn from children? I love listening to her; she will be the next Michelle Rhee, right?

iPhone/iPad - The Ultimate 1:1?

Lainie Rowell presented to a standing room only group on effective use of the iOS platform in the classroom. iOS is Apple's new branding of the operating software for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. She focused on the iPhone, but showed how the only difference between an iPhone and an iPod Touch is the camera and microphone.


Here are some highlights from her presentation (pdf of presentation):


Advantages of Mobile Computing

• Affordable • Portable • Accessible • Easier to use than some desktop computers • Enough functionality to serve as your primary computing device • Often, less IT support is required

Tools used (not iPhone apps):

1. Ipevo like Elmo, but compact and much cheaper: http://www.ipevo.com/Point-2-View-USB-Camera_p_70.html
   
2. RSS news aggregator, create your own newspaper: www.netnewswireapp.com
3. Quick audience or classroom polling using a text messaging: www.polleverywhere.com
4. iPod charging/syncing station
   

iPhone/iPod/iPad tips:

1. Shake to undo typing.
2. Save draft of email by clicking cancel
3. To get to top of a screen while in a scrollable application press clock
4. Hold down your finger on something for the equivalent of a right click to get options
5. Can save images by holding down to get a 'right click' to save image or copy and paste.
6. Language special characters: hold down letter and options appear. When you hold down you get options.
7. Double click home button to open multitasking bar.
8. Getting directions using google maps:cUse laptop ann Google maps and email directions to phone. Then in phone open email and click on link to launch Maps and load direction set.

Lainie's contact info:
Lainie Rowell
website: www.lainierowell.com
bookmarks: http://www.diigo.com/user/lainierowell
email: lainie@me.com

What Lainie uses her iPhone for (Apps, most free, some small charge):

1. Using clock to set alarms (free)
   
2. Weather app (free)
   
3. IPod (free)
   
4. TED talks-Tech,Entertainment,Design (youtube, free)
   
5. Calendaring (free)
   
6. Attendance.app
7. Used in Lang Arts
8. Preso
9. Calculator (turn device sideways to get science calculator)
10. Lots of science apps
11. Twitter
12. Uses instant messaging (IM) which is always up to communicate with other teachers
13. Mail (Message grouping in Mail)
14. MS exchange support
15. AudioBoo (uses this to quickly and easily upload audio to podcasts)
    
16. Evernote (I use this constantly and in fact used this on my iPhone to take these notes during Lainie's presentation). Pictures, text, sound that is indexed on servers for easy search.
    
17. Kindle has come to the iPad!
    
18. iBook
19. Google mobile app
20. Shazam, your iPhone will listen to a song and then tell you what it is and give you a link to easily add to your iTunes
    
21. Tv.com, see those epsidoes...that were recently aired or not
    
22. Whiteboard
23. Translator
24. ibowl
25. iGolf
26. Bump is used to share contact info...akin to a high five with an exchange of contact info! Bump
    
27. Used to share contact info with others.
28. Augmented reality
29. EUSD iRead site for good iPhone apps
    

Here is Lainie's full shared list of bookmarks for Applications...easily sortable using a site called Digg: http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/https%3A%2F%2Fsites.google.com%2Fsite%2Flearningcontinuity%2Fwith-ipod-touches?tab=people&uname=lainierowell

mp

Darren Kuropawta: good presentations

I thought you all might enjoy this link on the don't of presenting. The speaker, Darren, talked about the visual elements and usefulness of presentations - for kids and adults alike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpvgfmEU2Ck

Tools for administrators

creativity is where the United States excels; we are behind other countries in everything else

"Poll everywhere" is a voting service where folks can vote via text on a handheld device

Book recommendation: Disrupting Class, How disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, Clayton Christensen

Audience mostly public school administrators: quote: "All the best kids are going to private, charter or homeschool: 8-12% of school age childre" (he is addressing the issues in public education in Illinois specifically)

check this out!

Sal Kahn is taping mini lectures and taping it and placing it on YouTube...5 minutes or less; podcasts and mini lessons are done at home and class time is for discussion, problem solving and interpersonal interaction; he is a local start up;
-engineering

this has all 4-6 min video clips explaining all topics
he's not a teacher; he's an engineer

http://www.khanacademy.org/

watch this... http://khanexercises.appspot.com/video?v=1xSQlwWGT8M


Mooresville, N.C. has a no textbook rule and have given laptops to all 4th-12th graders and student achievement has improved exponentially

_____
Uses of google docs in schools:

Create forms for teachers to sign up for extracurricular, for emergency procedures; discipline procedures;

____

in libraries, kids are checking out KIndles after requesting books to be dowloaded which is done by the librarian...

-less than 10% implementation (by teachers) of tech training in public schools in ILL.

____
ustreaming on iphones thru the ustream app
---

www.iasaedu.org
he does a podcast a week for school administrators
podcasts
----

iPad
program called iAnnotate; you can highlight and mark on the PDF on the iPad

they are doing teacher evaluations with iPads and iAnnotate ($9.99) app and then they can mark up the doc on the iPad

___

jing

podcasts which are basically narrated power points/ blogs/ wikis/ informational videos/
blogging curriculum and instruction ideas on podcasts/

___

http://audioboo.fm/

audioboo/fm is a free app

narrate, record and bookend a performance and hit publish and it goes right to webpage for public

---

Chinese students are in school 180 days per year for ten hours a day; a little paranoia here about the future of public schools

___

I made my own separate to do list as an administrator; I have lots to think about here!!
KM

Session 1 Monday at 10:15am: The Progressive Teaching Initiative PTI

Focus currently is on science education with the method expanded to mathematics

Again, for the second session in a row, real questions about grading and the value of grading in motivating students

Commentary on AP testing
Currently, AP curves equal the following formula: when you take the AP if you get 60% of the material correct, you get a 5?

So this session is really for high school science teachers; they teach for 41 minutes a day;

The more teachers teaching different courses the more collaborating teachers do and can see what comes before and what comes after

new term: TBWA: teaching by wandering around

NJPSI www.njpsi.org

Mitch Resnick Keynotes Wednesday morning..

We should want students to become full Creaters and Makers of Technology
beyond texting and Facebook; we do not just want kids to interact with technology, but to create, to express their ideas and create media

(Kathleen's sidebar: and teach them how to do so responsibly, with a solid foundation in media literacy, where we the adults are clear about how to use media responsibly ourselves, how to successfully and accurately cite all that we use and then start teaching those skills to students.)

What Sessions to Attend?

I'm sitting at the Wednesday morning keynote address, wondering what sessions to attend. John seems to already have the whole conference program scoped out with some GREAT history-related options. Nancy says that she prefers the types of sessions that leave you with one great idea or specific strategy that you can implement right away. I'm torn between going to the "bigger picture" vision-type sessions vs. more targeted topics. How 'bout you?

EIGHT MCDS Faculty to Attend BLC 2010!!

We are thrilled to be sending so many faculty members to Boston in mid-July! This will be a space for all of us to contribute our thoughts, notes and experiences from the conference. Here is a link to the conference page: http://novemberlearning.com/blc/

What is BLC 2010?