Today I'm hijacking a post from Dianne Krause's blog, because you ALL need to watch this video. It's one of the best representations of what learning in a Web 2.0 "classroom" can potentially be (and apparently, it's already happening in some places). While you're there, subscribe to Dianne's blog!
(Please forgive the cornball post title) It blows my very own mind when I realize that I never told you all about how incredibly wonderful PodcampAZ was. Perhaps it's because the very experience defied my humble description. Or I could have just forgotten. Suffice it to say, however, that it was far and away the best conference experience I've had since PodcampNYC, and may have possibly eclipsed it with it's persistent sunshine, friendly volunteers and fellow "campers", and not least of all, Brian Shaler's innovative Twitterwall that kept everyone informed of Podcamp doings, sessions, meetups, and impromptu plans by way of a projected wall image (very James Bond!) of a collaborative Twitter discussion featuring Podcamp hashtags.
But that's not what I'm here to talk about. Perhaps the greatest discovery I made while at PodcampAZ (other than how to order food at a Sonic) was the existence of Jing, a free download that may not do everything Camtasia Studios does, but does enable you to do a very basic screencast, upload it, store it, and is (did I mention) FREE as well as cross-platform! The fact that Jing is free, Mac and PC compatible and very easy to use opens up a universe of possiblities for educators who are trying to incorporate more media into their content delivery. I hadn't even considered doing screencasts for my classes until I started tinkering with Jing (in my hotel, I was so eager to put it to work). How do you use screencasting software? What do you think you can do with Jing? Better still, do you think Jing can help encourage the more tech-reluctant, "digital-immigrant" teachers to use media as part of their instructional arsenal?
Posted using ShareThis Will Richardson (author of the great ed-tech blog Weblogg-Ed) talks about how "...just about everywhere I go where groups of educators are in the room, paper abounds. Notebooks, legal pads, sticky notes, index cards…it’s everywhere. We are, as Alan November so often says, 'paper trained,' and the worst part is it shows no signs of abating".
This past weekend I brought a friend to see Carole and Paula of the old children's TV series, "The Magic Garden" perform. For those of you who a) didn't grow up in the New York Tri-State area and b) weren't a child in the early 1970's, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. The Magic Garden was a children's show that aired on the independent local metro NY station WPIX-11 from 1972-1984, and hosted by two women (whom happened to be former NYC school teachers, as well as childhood friends) named Carole (Demas) and Paula (Janis).
From today's vantage point, it may seem like there was nothing spectacular about the show; the women sang little songs and played guitar, acted out stories from "the story box", told jokes from "the chuckle patch", and interacted with puppet characters like Sherlock the pink squirrel. However, the reaction of the 30- and 40- somethings who attended the show (both Carole and Paula are pushing 70, mind you) told a different story. In the ladies room, I overheard grown women talk of how they would cry when the shutters would close at the end of the show; while standing on a very long line to obtain autographs following the performance, a couple (who had driven from Connecticut for the show), gripping their new copies of the Carole & Paula DVD, commented to us that they were planning to see them again next month, not only because they always see them perform in the area, but that "Sherlock will be at that show". We then engaged in a discussion about what time slot the show aired in; a gentleman ahead of us insisted, "It was 2:30! 2:30 every day, except Friday, when that damn 'Time for Joya' was on!".
While standing on line so my friend could get her autograph, I wondered what it was about the show that had such a lasting effect on all of us. I consider myself very fortunate that I grew up during a time period when the producers of children's television shows really began to see their potential as a teaching tool, and sought to incorporate innovative ways to make learning fun (pardon that tired cliche) through the use of new media. I remember my mother adjusting the "rabbit ears" on a tiny black and white TV one day in 1969 so I could watch the very first episode of Sesame Street; to this very day, I still sing some of the songs from the series The Electric Company in my head when struggling to remember my times tables. Why do middle aged baby boomers like myself and my peers remember the joy we felt when the shutters opened to The Magic Garden, but can barely remember the facts we learned in school? What was the "magic"? Sure, some of it was the natural charisma of Carole and Paula, who, to me, seemed like those cool older sisters; but maybe it was the daring uniqueness of them, the resistance to condescend to children and indulge their creative spirit. It made me wonder: are we attempting to do the same thing today, with web 2.0? Maybe I'm just trying to fit and old square video peg into a round digital hole, but I see some connection. Maybe I just want to see it, because I miss that magic.
I'm reposting this from Marthaq's tumblr (she's one of our profession's passionate, dynamic young teachers); an interesting video collaboration called The Teacher Salary Project. From the website: "THE TEACHER SALARY PROJECT is a feature-length documentary film, interactive online resource, and national outreach campaign that delves into the core of our educational crisis from the eyes and experiences of our nation's teachers...A good teacher has the power to change the course of a life. A teacher can move a child from poverty to promise by providing him or her with the skills and confidence necessary to be carried into adulthood—yet because teachers in the United States have historically had an average annual salary lower than their peers with similar educational backgrounds, 50 percent of our nation's best teachers must have second jobs outside of the classroom—like tutoring, mowing lawns, selling stereos, bartending—to be able to afford to teach."
Time to get out the Flip camera and start that teacher vlog you've been thinking about...?
A fantastic "day in the life" (hypothetically? does it matter?) of a Social Web-centered teacher. A must read, especially for those of us bravely going "back to the trenches" this week!Workflow- Social Media School Teacher
By the way, if you care at all about the power of social media, in education or elsewhere, you need to subscribe to Chris Brogan's blog (RSS or email options available on his blog page). It's at the top of my daily feed reading list. Subscribe to his newsletter (it's a bit different) too.
For those of you going back to work this week in our public and private schools, I wish you a positive and fulfilling year.
In this New York Times article by Motoko Rich, the author raises the question--and explores the answers via interviews with readers "old" and "young"--that asks, if your read it on your computer screen, are you a reader?
Now that we're half-way through the summer (at least I am; I can expect to return for my first day of meetings one month from today), perhaps you, like me, are already thinking about what our students will bring to us in terms of their willingness to agree on what we consider learning when they arrive in our classrooms in September.
