From the TCMS Media Center

In the midst of this frantic week leading up to CRCT (testing begins next week here), I have enjoyed my Web 2.0 oasis in very brief moments of quiet.   

 In watching the two animations explaining Creative Commons, I reflected on how many times I have planned lessons for my media center or collectively with teachers only to be unable to find that perfect extra component to make the lesson a complete package.  In my school, budgets are very tight, so we often feel like we are missing the right video clip, graphics program, or something to make our lessons complete.  Creative Commons may just be the key to changing that mode of thinking for our teachers. 

I am thankful that so many resources are made available to educators and a bit overwhelmed that so many would share such great resources.  From the animations, I found it interesting that the author can choose how much access others can have to his/her work.

I have never shared content such as lesson plans on the web, but  I have often searched for items to integrate into my lessons.  For instance, prior to a class reading  The Diary of Anne Frank, I did a lesson with them explaining the historical time period and key figures of that time.  In the planning of that lesson, I used a video clip from United Streaming so that students could see actual images and hear voices to stress the  seriousness of the events of the Holocaust.  

  I look forward to delving into the OER Commons in the quiet of next week’s testing periods!

As part of the stretch assignment for this Thing, I went to the Wikipedia and did a search on Alzheimer’s Disease. In August my father passed away due to complications of Alzheimer’s Disease, so I felt like this would be a topic that I had personal knowledge of as well as an interest in seeing what’s new on the topic.

The length of the article is impressive, but length alone can not be an indicator of if the article is informative.  So I began reading.  I was impressed with the content of the article even though the topic itself lends to very technical terms and explanations.  When I clicked on the discussion tab I was amazed over the number of posts questioning different components of the content in the article as well as the length of the article itself.  the attention given to detail was impressive through out.

The history tab gave me a glimpse of what changes and the extent of the changes that had been made to the article.  Overall, the main changes dealt with a grammar error, but not many of the changes had anything to do with the serious details  of the article.

My experiences with all of this had let me know that wikis are a valuable tool and the user friendliness and cost effectiveness of them makes it a shame not to use them in  our schools.

Referencing my previous blog, I will again say that I am reformed  in my thinking about wikis and Wikipedia.  The discussion tab alone is a great tool in helping the reader to determine validity of the article’s content.

UGHHHH!! I hate admitting when I am wrong (We can call this personality flaw number 1). Over the past couple of days as I have been reading the info for Thing 7, a comment I made a few weeks back keeps going through my mind over and over and over again. Ever have one of those moments when you just wanted to hit the rewind button only to realize that your mouth doesn’t have one? Or perhaps like me you’ve made a comment and then failed to do a good job explaining your comment. Well, here is what happened. A teacher here reserved the media center so that her students could do research for a class project. As I do with any group of students doing research, I introduced several options for gathering info including print and non-print media. I even mentioned Wikipedia — with a caution to avoid them if possible. (I know you are cringing also right about now.) I missed a great opportunity to instruct the students in techniques of evaluating online material. Where is that rewind button again? Oh yes, I don’t have one. Therefore I must admit that I made a HUGE blunder. I missed a great chance for a teachable moment. Shame on me. I am, however, going to take the fact that I recognize this error as a sign that there is still hope for this media specialist!

I enjoyed reading Vicki Davis’ blog post entitled Wiki Wiki Teaching.  I was challenged by her enthusiasm to give something new a try and was encouraged by the success she outlined in her blog.  I wasn’t unfamiliar with Vicki Davis as her blogs is one that I now subscribe to on Google Reader.  Her enthusiasm for Web 2.0 is contagious.  I think that I am a bit envious of her trailblazer spirit in this area.

As instructed, I took a look around at some of the wikis in our Thing 7 list.  The FHS Wolves Den wiki was interesting to me.  I liked the organization with current tasks and assignments at the top while a glimpse of where the class had been was still on the page.  With little credit given to actual students, it was difficult for me to see where the teacher’s input stopped and the students started.   

Turn Homeward, Hannah Lee is a wiki created by 5th grade reading students and provides insight to the novel written by Patricial Beatty.  This wiki truly seemed to epitomize the collaborative effort of a couple of different classes and many different students. The student created slide shows really provided a means to see the talent level of the students as well as highlighted their interest in the class project.  I would imagine that many parents, grandparents and other  extended family members got an invite to see the student’s work online.

One of the wikis that I liked the least was the Thousand Projects wiki.  I didn’t disagree with the premise, but perhaps I misunderstood the ultimate purpose of the wiki.  Why was 1,000 the goal?  How are the contributions being utilized in the classroom?  Is the exercise considered a failure if fewer than 1,000 responses were received? 

After looking at many of these wikis, I have begun to wonder how I can implement a wiki into my media center.  Enter Barry.  Barry is a new student at our school this year.  I enjoy talking with Barry.  However, he is a literature snob.  I use that term affectionately because I truly enjoy the fact that he loves to read — even though he is very vocal about what he would call formulaic trash (which most students around here prefer to read when reading is required.)  Often as students will, I am asked where to find a ”good book”.  Being somewhat book snobbish myself, I catch myself from pointing out that we have thousands of books on our library shelves and that they are all good books.  After a process of ascertaining a students personal interests I make several suggestions and pull books only to get the, “I don’t think I would like that.” Book cover not pleasing enough, too many pages, whatever the reason they don’t like the books.  However, on more than one occasion this year I have seen one of these students with whom I have had these book discussions leaving with a book that I had previously suggested.  When I make the comment, “Oh you decided to try my suggestion anyway.”  I get this: “No, Barry says its a good book.” Barry, Barry, Barry!!! So this is what I am going to try to do.  I will create a wiki (that in my mind I will call “Barry’s Place”), and get students here to post book recommendations. Of course, Barry will be the first person I invite to join.  Recommendations will include a short summary and why the student thinks the book should be read by others.  This will help me also when I can’t match a kid face to face with Barry, they can just go to the wiki and read his recommendations.  Thanks Barry for being the catalyst for a new day in the media center.

A little of this, a little of that.  I guess that would be the best way to sum up what my blogger’s roll looks like right now.  I have been able to add some professional blogs like Doug Johnson’s Blue SkunkBlog (found this thanks to a subscription to pnathan’s Learning 2.0blog — thanks pnathan) .  I had an opportunity to sit in on a session with Doug Johnson at GaETC a few years back, so I was glad to find a feed for his blogs. 

I did add some subscriptions that were more of a fun thing for me.  Blogs to discussion groups for authors that I personally enjoy reading and the like.  

My new goal concerning the whole reader thing is to continue to feed my reader by adding subscriptions to bloggers who discuss noteworthy fiction for middle school readers, other middle school and school media center topics.  I am going to enjoy this reading habit.  I just hope I don’t enjoy it a bit too much — after all, somewhere in my school someone can’t get their printer to print!

As soon I as I got my reader set up, I made a subscription to the podcast “The Lake Woebegone News” from NPR.  I enjoy listening to the narration, and I enjoy the laughs that come along with listening.

Another article that I found interesting was written by Diane Coggins entitled “How To Introduce New Technology to a Staff“.  As the technology contact in my school, I often wonder if I am doing the “right” things in introduction technology to my faculty.  I was encouraged by the article as I found that, according to one author, that I am on the right track in the approach I use to introduce new technology tools to those with whom I work. I model use of the tool.  I offer training on the tool. I offer ongoing support for those using the tool.   Finding this article was very appropriate timing as I am adding to my technology tool box everyday, and I needed the encouragement that I am following some very solid steps in sharing these technology tools with my faculty.

I’ve had a couple of concerns with blog postings.  First, I simply can’t understand why someone would publish very personal thoughts and feelings on the Internet.  As someone who uses a social networking site to keep in contact with family and friends, I am at times shocked by the content of the blog posts. (Go ahead — call me a prude.  I just think some things should be private.)  However, I must realign my thinking on blogs after reading through some of the ones on our suggested reading list.  I was impressed by several and enjoyed reading the thoughts of others on issues that I deal with in my professional life.  (The Ripe Environment, Why I Don’t Assign Homwork, and Patrick’s Update) In normal circumstances I would never have the opportunity to chat face to face with these people.  So, I am going on record to say that I have now changed my official position on blogging: Blogging can be used for communicating thoughts beyond the personal realm — Blogging can be for the greater good.

A second concern I have in regards to blogging is the stream of consciousness style of writing that seems to lead to heated, premature posts.  Though now I can see that I need to reclassify my thoughts on that also.   Could the blog post entitled Teaching Brevity  have been any more valuable in challenging my thoughts on this issue? 

Freedom to comment on blogs does contribute to the meaning.  The nuances one person reads in a blog may be overlooked by a different reader.  Comments (and subscribing to the feeds) can assist other readers in obtaining a fuller scope of the subject being discussed.

There is a blogging literacy in that you must be able to control the stream of consciousness thought process in such a way that you (the blogger) can  communicate your ideas  in a way that others can and want to contribute to your posts which increases the meaning-making of the blogs.

In a recent review in preparation for the upcoming 8th grade technology literacy assessment test, I polled the 8th graders on their use of social web sites like Facebook and MySpace. Very few of the students reported not having a page on one or more sights of the kind.  I was further amazed upon questioning them as to how much time daily they spend on these tasks.  The video entitled “Students are Changing: A Vision of Students Today” certainly was right on target with the amount of time students spend online at sights of this type.  If this kind of technology is able to hold their attention, then it seems rational to me that I need to be creative in finding ways to implement this kind of technology into my lessons to prove to my students that I forward thinking in my use of technology.  That type of common bond would certainly seem to be a bridge to building stronger teacher/student relationships as well as going far beyond the norm to gain the students interest.  If I utilize these tools creatively and effectively, I will give students with the ability to move at a quicker pace the freedom to do so while I can direct my immediate attention to students who need more one-to-one help.  This would also be a great opportunity for peer-to-peer instruction.

I can see that this type of technology is going to be of great benefit to me in my professional practices as more professional learning funds are directed toward the four main academic subjects at the middle school level.  I will need to depend on Web 2.0 technology to help be get additional training and instruction that I need to be more successful and up-to-date with current trends/technology. 

After listening to the explanation of the 7 1/2 Habits of Effective Lifelong Learners, I think I will be most challeneged by habits 2 and 7 1/2.  Habit 2, taking responsibility for my own learning, has the potential of being a challege for me simply because of a myriad of additional responsibilities both professionally and personally.  I need to daily challenge myself into facing deadlines — no matter the project — in an effieicnt manner.  Procrastination can not be a habit that I exhibit regardless of the temptation to do so.  I guess I can be accused of being guilty of looking the other way when major deadlines approach like a speeding bullet.  I am going to choose, however, to not make an issue of the deadlines and just meet each one in a timely fashion.

The Play! habit will be a challenge for me also, and this habit will be the most important for me.  I serve a faculty of 60+ teachers and 630 students daily without the assistance of a paraprofessional.  Needless to say, my work day is full of helping others achieve their goals.  Homelife, while not as hectic, is also full of responsibilties and duties that won’t get completed if I don’t do them. Taking time to play, making mistakes and doing things over again just are not part of my daily schedule. Typically, I take the path of least resistance — do the job right the first time and move on.  I will need to really challenge myself to take the time to play, risk making mistakes, and see what learning comes from that.  Having said all of that, I do realize that I, personally, learn things by doing.  I will need to consistently remind myself that the learning I will be doing through this course will become more concrete to me as I practice, make mistakes, and then correct those mistakes.  If I make a few mistakes along the way and determine how to fix them  then I will be more equipped to help faculty members and students quickly fix any mistakes that they may make along their learning paths.

 The easiest habits for me will be habits 1 and 3.  Habit 1, begin with the end in mind, is easy for me becuase I have already identified some areas in my professional path to utilize these skills.  I am excited to learn new things, and how these new can help me create new ways of encouraging learning in my school. The third habit, view problems as a challenge, will also be easy for me.  Since I am approximately 200 miles away from my coach, I will have no choice but to see the problems as challenges.  Phone calls and emails will be a wonderful aide that I am thankful for which I have access, but with the physical distance between us, I know that I will not have easy access to her physical presence which will in turn  force me to figure thins out and make them work.