using social media to expand the classroom community
Posts tagged with teachers
by derrickwillard on March 28, 2010 at 8:20 pm · Filed under failure, professional development, social media and tagged: epic fail, social media, teachers, the journey
Recently I was at the NCAIS Innovate Conference at Cary Academy, and I heard a number of presenters speak about the value of an “epic fail” when experimenting with social media in their classrooms. Sounds reasonable. I work at a school where one of the core values is “We believe that students should be encouraged to try new endeavors and take risks without fear of failure.” Great in theory, but do teachers really do this in practice? Honestly? I want my lessons and activities to work.
What about you? Help me write this blog post by explaining your BEST “epic fail” using social media…what did you learn that others might benefit from knowing?
by derrickwillard on March 1, 2010 at 3:54 pm · Filed under professional development, social media, twitter and tagged: conference, teachers, twitter
So, I’m gearing up for the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools annual “tech”conference next week. The conference organizers have wisely changed the name to “NCAIS Innovate,” as the focus should be on the teaching and not the tech. The conference title is “Igniting Innovation: Sparking Conversation about Learning in the Digital Age.” The conference will be hosted by Cary Academy on March 11th-12th (next week). I’ll be making two presentations on how I’ve incorporated social media into my science teaching and how social media can pull quiet girls into discussions.
If you can’t be there in person, you can experience part of the conference online. The education-themed internet radio show, EdTechTalk 21st Century Learning, will be broadcasting live from 1-2pm EST. I’m sure there will also be other sessions streamed live and probably lots of Twitter chatter that can be viewed via a hashtag.
Is it worth it to tag along to conferences like these online? I think so, if you have the time and cannot make it there in person. I recently tried to follow happenings at an amazing conference know as Educon 2.2. I could not physically get to Philly for the Conference, but decided to follow the conversations on Twitter (#educon hashtag-see bottom image), through streaming video sites like Vokle (see image below),
Panel Discussion on Vokle (Click to Enlarge)
and through online classroom/presentation spaces like Elluminate (see image below).
Elluminate & Twitter feed (Click to Enlarge)
This is great professional development as you don’t have to be just a voyeur–you can participate too! Check out the conference blog-hope to see you there or online.
by derrickwillard on February 16, 2010 at 3:04 pm · Filed under Google Tools and tagged: RSS, student work, teachers
In my last post, I mentioned the value I have found in utilizing a RSS Reader for gathering the most current happenings in science and education (that are online). Assuming you are new to the tool, let me give another practical use for the classroom teacher-tracking student work. Now that have students doing regular work on class blogs or wikis (links to examples are a section to the right of this column), I have to stay on top of their posts and comments. Instead of visiting 3 different projects on a daily basis, I just check my RSS Reader. If you click and enlarge the image below, you can see I have subscribed to posts and comments in the left hand column of my RSS Reader:
Click to Enlarge
In the main viewer window of my RSS Reader, you can see the latest post by one of my students in my 8th period APES class. What an easy way to keep my “papers” organized…eh? Work smarter, not harder.
by derrickwillard on February 11, 2010 at 2:10 pm · Filed under Google Tools, professional development and tagged: RSS, social media, teachers
One of my favorite things about dabbling in social media this past year is the ease with which I can now keep up with current trends in education and current events in my field (science). Last year I was introduced to Google Reader by Will Richardson. If you are not familiar, it is a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Reader. If you are not familiar with the concept, check out this short (3 minute) Common Craft video tutorial on RSS Readers. Oh, did I mention it is FREE?
My RSS Reader has become the primary means by which I stay abreast of current happenings. I no longer spend hours searching/reading the newspaper, science organization magazines, or major news organization web sites–I let targeted news come to me. When you look in the next column to the right, you get a glimpse into my Google Reader. Those are items I choose to share with the public.
I think the ability to manage subscriptions in an RSS Reader has to become an essential skill for the professional development of the 21st Century educator. Do you?
*Note: If you are new to all this and have just acquired an RSS Reader, note you can subscribe to blog entries using the link in the far right column…
by derrickwillard on February 1, 2010 at 5:09 pm · Filed under professional development, social media and tagged: social media, teachers, why
In my last post, I posed the essential question:
Why would any teacher (especially a successful, experienced teacher) investigate using social media tools like Nings, blogs, or wikis as a part of their craft?
This is the question I hear the most from teachers encountering social media in education for the first time. My first answer is, try this social media stuff as it is regenerative. I don’t even think that is a real word, but Merriam-Webster gives 3 definitions for regenerate:
1 : formed or created again
2 : spiritually reborn or converted
3 : restored to a better, higher, or more worthy state
Yes, I feel “formed or created again” and “reborn or converted.” Really, I do. I guess I first encountered this idea when I saw Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People so many years ago. I think it is akin to Covey’s Habit #7, “sharpen the saw.” According to Covey’s web site;
“Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have–you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. Here are some examples of activities:
| Physical: |
Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting |
| Social/Emotional: |
Making social and meaningful connections with others |
| Mental: |
Learning, reading, writing, and teaching |
| Spiritual: |
Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through meditation, music, art, prayer, or servic |
As you renew yourself in each of the four areas, you create growth and change in your life. Sharpen the Saw keeps you fresh so you can continue to practice the other six habits. You increase your capacity to produce and handle the challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish. Not a pretty picture, is it?”
So, I am here to tell you that all the time I have devoted to my Personal Learning Network on Twitter, Nings, and Google Reader has helped me to sharpen the mental and social-emotional areas of my life. All this time in Web 2.0 does create some conflict with Life 1.0 (the physical and spiritual), but that will have to come in a later post.
I’ll let you, the reader, decide if I (or you) can move to a “better, higher, or more worthy state” in my role as teacher. But to do that, you have to stick around for the journey…
Next time, why this is generative for my students.
