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ACTIVBoard Gives Voice to the Unspeakable

I love my Promethean ACTIVBoard! I flat out love it.

It's not so much the software, although the Inspire platform has great utilities and functionality. Rather, it is the capacity to follow threads, model effectively, and draw my studnets along and into what we are doing and or exploring.

Let me illustrate specifically what I'm talking about.

Today I cued up a clip from ESPN Outside the Lines entitled "Unspeakable," about a 1916 lynching and the subsequent connection to two present day public figures in Abbeville, South Carolina. (I'm being intentionally vague about details to entice you into following links to take in this most excellent piece)

After passing out copies of Eric Adelson's companion article, and beginning our class reading, I was able to pull up the text as I had copied it into a Google Doc. While reading, students were expected to identify specific details about the principal present-day figures. My alternative students need modeling, modeling. modeling, so, thanks to my ACTIVBoard I was able to select text in the Google Doc and highlight details in colrs unique to each of the men featured.

Now, that could've been achieved with a little forethought and copying onto a transparency; however, what came next was made possible only by the interactive whiteboard. We learend of the unlikely prosperity of a black man circa 1916, so we used Googel to translate acres into square feet. And, using Google maps, we located the town square of Abbeville, SC, looked around in street view, located Abbeville High School, looked for the area fair grounds, and then used line tools to draw a square mile on the map. This combined with some discussion about our infamous history and relationship with slavery, racism, and bigotry, and all of the sudden the magnitude of what happened in Abbeville 93 years ago hit home with my students - a place, an unusually wealthy& self-made man, an indescribably horrible event, and its impact on two present-day Abbeville community members.

It all came to life today. What would've been a far removed, albeit no less significant set of events actually entered my room on an entirely different level today, thanks to my ACTVBoard.

-SchlegsofTonka

Of Drones and Cleaning my Digital Footprint

Last night during PBS Frontline's Digital Nation a portion of the program surveyed how Predator Drone pilots are engaging in combat from 1/2 a planet away, and there on the screen real American soldiers are depicted actually taking out the enemy. After their shift, they apck up and return to the comfort to of their homes. In America, not on some home away from home base 1/2 a planet away from home.

Taken aback and Awed by where technology has taken things,  I made a Twitter update about sending "a Drone Schlegs into my classroom. :)" No sooner had I updated my feed than I thought, "Somebody's going to misinterpret that one." So, like a good Twitizen, I deleted the tweet.

All night I worried about how that Tweet was read, even though it was out there a very short time.

I lamented that no one is going to know that I am really struggling with my teaching as of late, questioning my ability and my real impact on my students.

I worried further that no one is going to understand that I want my students to be engaged in learning, and I am really having a difficult time drawing them into the material. I writhed over the fact that no one is going to understand from those <140 characters that I am trying to craft lessons while staying a mere 1/2 step ahead of the game, knowing that while I'm feeling bedraggled, my students aren't being served to the degree they deserve.

Bottom line, no one will see the person behind that remark in a state of doubt where he's willing to give it the possibility that a highly trained master teacher taking my form and "piloting me" from 1/2 a world away could have a more meaningful and lasting positive impact on my students than I think I am having this year.

Minutes later, I  updated my feed with what I hope is a better Tweet, one more accurately capturing what was swirling in my head when I posted the earlier update: "I think an avatar and /or Drone version of me would do a better job as of late - one or both should be in front of my room these days."


I am still still worrying, lamenting, and writhing, though.

-SchlegsofTonka

Digital Nation Anticipatory Set

Perusing my Sunday paper yesterday - yes, some of us do still subscribe to a print source of information - I cam across a "heads up" in the entertainment section regarding Tuesday's showing of Digital Nation on PBS' Frontline. This is of interest not only because I work with technology in my position as educator and technology integration specialist, but because (a) my wife and I are on seemingly opposite sides fo teh fence as it applies to our society's daily immersion in and dependence upon technology resources, and (b) my sons, 8 going on 9 and 11 going on 12, themselves are growing up in the midst of this technology dependent culture.

I am eager to watch this program, have my own views challenged, and really begin giving serious thought to the role technology does, could, and should play in my teaching , learning and living.
I wonder, how is it others regard the 21st century societal prevalence and reliance upon technology, and how it is technology plays a part in their lives, good, bad, or other. In addition, I wonder, are we going "too far"? or are there boundaries we must push to legitimately and positively advance ourselves to a higher, better place personally, interpersonally, and professionally?

(The show airs Tuesday February 2, 2010. Check your local PBS listings for more details & specifics. I, for one, am hoping to engage in the backchannel as it airs.)


-SchlegsofTonka

Finally, Not Just One of the Crowd

Do you espouse collaboration? Really?
I started developing a Personal Learning Network (PLN) just about a year ago after I reacquainted myself with Twitter. In that time, I have gleaned a number of ideas and resources to bring back to the students in the alternative program I coordinate, as well as the "mainstream" colleagues in the junior high where I act as a Building Technology Integration Specialist. Central to the theme of many of these resources, tools and ideas is that notion that we enhance what we do by collaborating.

Inspired,  I embarked on a wiki project last year because I wanted my students to see their collaborative efforts pay off in the completion of an on-line resource. In addition, I utilized my PLN connections to gather "real world" consumers of their work and generate authentic feedback from those who accessed the wiki. By the time students had completed their work (or the time to conclude teh unit had arrived) there was a living, breathing student-generated entity influenced by an authentic audience of professional educators serving as aresource for completing a unit assessment.

Reflecting on that task, I see my students gained experience, insight, and understanding through their collaboration. And, I benefited from the use of my PLN as "audience."

But, and here is the central question, had I really collaborated, or had I merely relied on others to assist my students? While drawing on the input of others is an aspect of collaboration, I don't think I really collaborated; instead, I assigned and watched my students collaborate on work.

So, last week when the call went out on Twitter from Beth Still (@bethstill) and Jason Schrage (@oswego98) for contributors to a crowdsourcing effort, I knew it was finally time to contribute to my PLN, to add my knowledge to a collaborative effort.

The result of the work of people from across North America is EdTechConnect, a site compiling insights regarding a variety of web2.0 tools, and supporting an in-service workshop Jason is conducting today (1/25/10).

I visited the site this morning, and marveled at how the site was crafted by people who volunteered their "expertise" to facilitate a greater understanding by people they likely will never meet. It amazes me that from the crowd of Beth's & Jason's PLNs my voice emerged to take it's place in the chorus that is EdTechConnect. Together, the 10 or so voices have composed a resource that could help revolutionize how teachers address their craft.

Now, I'm not just one of the crowd, I'm the one in the crowd who shared what he knew inorder that others might benefit. And, doesn't it feel good right about now.

Click here to view a map of the EdTechConnect collaborators
-SchlegsofTonka

More About 1st Web2.0 Hero, Andy Carvin

What is Crisis Camp, and how is it harnessing the web and Web2.0 utilities? Listen to my first ever Web2.0 Hero Andy Carvin in this video.



-SchlegsofTonka

Who's Your Web2.0 Hero? Andy Carvin

I jumped on the web2.0 bandwagon a while back, but in earnest 13 months ago. In that time, I've discovered the amazing resources of a PLN via Twitter, one of which has been Andy Carvin National Public Radio's social media manager.

Shortly after the earthquake in Haiti, Andy was in the fray establishing stateside Crisis Camps in which blogger, coders, and tech geeks aplenty could collaborate on developing tools and resources to aid relief efforts in Haiti.

Andy appeared on NPR today (1/23) and spoke about these camps and how web2.0 toools have taken an increasing mroe active role in disasters over teh past 5 years.

Thank you Andy for your efforts, your work has touched me and the lives of so many here and in Haiti, I'm dubbing you my first ever Web2.0 hero.

If you have a Web2.0 hero Let me know about them

-SchlegsofTonka

Let's Take Back Texting

John Pearce's post at My Other Blog (Texting was never actually designed for consumer market) has me wondering (yet again) when we'll take back texting from mass use and bring it into our classrooms.


Pearce cites a guardian.co.uk article revealing engineers initiated texting as a means of internal communication, and when faced with the prospect of adapting to cell-phones, "people experimented a little bit."

Texting could be a great means of internal communication in our schools, if only teachers, like the engineers before them, would "experiment a little bit."
-SchlegsofTonka

Cloud Burst

I love that I was able to craft this presentation using Google Docs. Nevertheless, this is a cautionary tale.

Thursday January 7, 2009 8:30pm CST
The familiar startup chime of  my MacBook initiates my focus on the task of preparing this presentation for Friday's staff meeting.
My goal: Quickly compose thoughts on an equity workshop I attended a month earlier in such a way as to engage my audience of skeptical colleagues.
My first click of the mouse was on the overused orange PowerPoint P on my dock. My subsequent click, after an "I shoulda had a V-8 head slap," was Firefox. My intent was to ditch the PowerPoint in favor of my Google Docs account. I surmised I could engage my colleagues more effectively by crafting a minimalist yet lean and clean presentation which I could share with my colleagues in the morning. I could post a url, invite them into the presentation and take comments and feedback. It was the perfect blend of modeling effective tech integration and presenting salient points from teh workshop.

Thursday January 7, 2009 9:30pm CST

The bedtime rituals have me take a hiatus from crafting what I hope to be a presentation worth paying attention to in the morning.

Thursday January 7, 2009 11:36pm CST

I make the final save of my presentation after 212 revisions.

Friday January 8, 2009 6:50am CST

I arrive in the Hopkins North Junior High Media Center, and hear, again, that welcome sound of the MacBook chime. I Open Firefox and arrive at my iGoogle homepage. I click on Documents from my menu, select the  presentation named Culture_Behavior, and... Wait a minute! What's this white screen? Why are all the buttons and links on the page showing up as simple black text? More important, Where is my presentation! Ugggghhhh Google Fail!

Friday January 8, 2009 7:15am CST

Our presentation over the equity workshop has begun. I step to the front of the room and confess, "I had a great presentation to explain what I took away from this workshop. But, uh, yeah, well it's just a blank white screen at Google Docs right now." I continue, and my points are well-received (what I can recall, that is).

Remember, I love using Google Docs. But what transpired yesterday has me questioning the reliance on cloud applications when it comes to what I'm calling mission critical work. Sure, I could have downloaded the presentation Thursday night and opened it Friday morning in PowerPoint, but doesn't that defeat the purpose of cloud applications? Moreover, that's not the point here.

My point is to call to light one of the concerns cloud computing critics have been expressing over the last 2 years or so in which such applications have become en vogue: just how reliable are they.

Based on Twitter posts from my PLN, and the pages too numerous to count on the Google Help page yesterday, I was not the only one in a quandary with this Google Fail. Globally, ordinary folks like me were relying heavily on Google Docs to make presentations on Friday. And, with a simple glitch, we were doused.

Looking forward, I'm still using Google Docs to craft my presentations in order to engae and involve my audience in what I speaking about. However, I'm going to go with my gut and download that file, just in case.

-SchlegsofTonka

State of Hockey Sends 5 to Vancouver

It has absolutely nothing to do with technology in Education, but I just wanted to mention that 5 players with roots in the State of Hockey will be donning the red, white, adn blue of team USA when the Olympic hockey tournament takes to the ice of Vancouver.

The fab 5 are:
Jamie Langenbrunner (F - Cloquet, MN)
Zach Parise (F - Prior Lake, MN)
David Backes (F - Blaine, MN)
Erik Johnson (D - Bloomington, MN)
Paul Martin (D - Minneapolis, MN)
-SchlegsofTonka