21st Century education has be characterized by an explosion of new technologies ripe for use in the classroom.  However, the rate at which these technologies are introduced and increased demands on time and budget often mean that training for these tools is scanty or non-existent.  Teacher adoption of new technologies can be severely hindered by inadequate training, so finding a site dedicated to providing free training videos for teachers is awesome!

The videos are divided into two sections, ELT/ESL and Web 2.0/ICT.  Topics covered range from spelling sites to Twitter.  Most of the videos consist of several indexed “chapters” which break a larger period of training into segments a few minutes long.  This is a convenient feature for teachers who may need to squeeze training into short periods of “free” time throughout a school day.

Strengths

• Wide range of topics covered
• Training presented as step-by-step screen captures
• Chapters make use convenient for busy teachers
• FREE!

Weaknesses

• Site layout de-emphasizes videos
• Lack of sub-categories could present challenge in locating content
• Terms of use unclear

As mentioned, these videos are being provided at no cost.  All that is needed to make use of them is a broadband Internet connection and a modern computer with a Web browser and the latest multimedia plugins (Flash, Shockwave, etc.).  These videos would be of use to anyone wishing to learn more about Web 2.0 tools.

However, the site fails to spell out the terms of use for this content.  The author is asserting copyright over the videos but does not indicate how they may be used.  The site does not indicate if these videos may be used in situations involving more than one teacher (in-service, group training, etc.) or if they can be embedded in presentations or blogs.  Even if these videos can only be used by individual teachers, they are still a great source of online training.

A teacher is able to create an online presence for each of their classes and create an assignment calendar (with reminders) for their students.  These assignments can then be turned in via the ICA.  The ICA also gives the teacher the opportunity to created threaded discussion boards to dialogue with students online.  The teacher receives an unique keycode for each class to share with students to control access.

Strengths:

• Powerful calendar system
• Ease of use
• Share documents
• Share URLs

Weaknesses:

• Cannot upload files; all documents must be entered as text or pasted from existing document files
• Student assignments are the same
• Teacher has little control over student accounts

The ICA would be a great tool for any teacher who wants to create online assignment calendars for their students.  Even if you made no use of the other features, this would still make the ICA worthwhile.  The addition of threaded discussions and online assignment turn-ins (even though limited) are nice extra features.  The cost can’t be beat (free) and, while there is a required registration, the site collects only the information you choose to give it (email and name are NOT required).

If any of these features are appealing to you, I encourage you to check out Nicenet’s Internet Classroom Assistant.

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Yesterday we had an all school singing in Church.  Today is Color Day: each class has a different color they are suppose to wear, I got stuck with purple.  I have only one shirt that has purple on it.  I am not a purple wearing person really.  Tonight is our History Fair.  Tomorrow is Mixed-Up, Crazy day and we have breakfast for lunch. Wednesday is Dress Up Chapel Day, wear your best.   We are also celebrating our 2nd grade teacher 50th birthday, that should be fun.  On Thursday we are having Pajama and Stuff Animal Day.  Thursday is also promotion day where the students go into their classroom for next year and then we finish the day off with a school spelling bee.  Friday is Sports Day and will be doing Jump Rope for Heart.  It is always a fun time to promote our School and Lutheran Schools across the Nation.  WE LOVE OUR LUTHERAN SCHOOLS.

Next week I am visiting a school in Michigan that has extended a call to me for principal and I get to partake in their National Lutheran School Week.  I am excited

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THURSDAY 02/25/10 – 4:00-5:00pm
What Are You Doing?
Kathy Maske
Altamont Lutheran Interparish School

Link to recorded session: https://corsica.cuw.edu/p41048649/

“In our schools today, education is changing.  We have more technology than we know what to do with.  Our Lutheran schools have the opportunity now more than ever to utilize the same technologies as other schools do via the Internet.  There has been an explosion in online, collaborative networking in the last 5 years or so with the introduction of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and other social networking sites.  What happens when we utilize these tools in our professional development?  Continuous online learning!  We now have tools that we, as Lutheran Educators, can use to collaborate with other educators continuously.  Whether you are seasoned at networking or are just beginning, sharing is valuable for all.”

THURSDAY 02/25/10 – 5:00-6:00pm
Podcast My Class Fast
Daniel Burk
Grace Lutheran Lancaster, CA

Link to recorded session: https://corsica.cuw.edu/p59231468/

“Teachers are afraid to try something new.  Podcast is something that any class and any teacher can utilize in their classroom.  We will go step-by-step how easy it is to record and publish a Podcast for your class.”

FRIDAY 02/26/10 – 11:00-12:00 noon
Personal Learning Networks and You
Jeremy Biddle
CUW Ed Tech Cohort/Lutheran Educators’ Guild

Link to recording: https://corsica.cuw.edu/p73822927/

“Personal Learning Networks [PLNs] are a solution for one of 21st Century education’s most difficult problems: keeping informed of emerging technologies and learning how to utilize them in our classrooms.  PLNs tap into the vast array of freely available information via traditional sources (books, newspapers, etc.) and emerging ones (blogs, Twitter, etc.).  A PLN, states Dr. Daniel R. Tobin, is a group of people who can guide your learning, point you to learning opportunities, answer your questions, and give you the benefit of their own knowledge and experience. This presentation will provide a starting point for educators to implement their own PLNs.  The audience will be provided with a brief presentation on PLNs and their usefulness, suggestions of software to use (along with tutorials/demonstrations of their use), and a categorized list of sources for individual educators to use in beginning their own PLN.  The list of sources will be posted online, with the ability for an educator to make their own additions to share.”

Three of the Guild’s authors will be presenting this year:

02/25/10 – 4:00-5:00pm
What Are You Doing?
Kathy Maske
Altamont Lutheran Interparish School

https://corsica.cuw.edu/cle6/

“In our schools today, education is changing.  We have more technology than we know what to do with.  Our Lutheran schools have the opportunity now more than ever to utilize the same technologies as other schools do via the Internet.  There has been an explosion in online, collaborative networking in the last 5 years or so with the introduction of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and other social networking sites.  What happens when we utilize these tools in our professional development?  Continuous online learning!  We now have tools that we, as Lutheran Educators, can use to collaborate with other educators continuously.  Whether you are seasoned at networking or are just beginning, sharing is valuable for all.”

02/25/10 – 5:00-6:00pm
Podcast My Class Fast
Daniel Burk
Grace Lutheran Lancaster, CA

https://corsica.cuw.edu/cle1/

“Teachers are afraid to try something new.  Podcast is something that any class and any teacher can utilize in their classroom.  We will go step-by-step how easy it is to record and publish a Podcast for your class.”

02/26/10 – 11:00-12:00 noon
Personal Learning Networks and You
Jeremy Biddle
CUW Ed Tech Cohort/Lutheran Educators’ Guild

https://corsica.cuw.edu/cle3/

“Personal Learning Networks [PLNs] are a solution for one of 21st Century education’s most difficult problems: keeping informed of emerging technologies and learning how to utilize them in our classrooms.  PLNs tap into the vast array of freely available information via traditional sources (books, newspapers, etc.) and emerging ones (blogs, Twitter, etc.).  A PLN, states Dr. Daniel R. Tobin, is a group of people who can guide your learning, point you to learning opportunities, answer your questions, and give you the benefit of their own knowledge and experience. This presentation will provide a starting point for educators to implement their own PLNs.  The audience will be provided with a brief presentation on PLNs and their usefulness, suggestions of software to use (along with tutorials/demonstrations of their use), and a categorized list of sources for individual educators to use in beginning their own PLN.  The list of sources will be posted online, with the ability for an educator to make their own additions to share.”

We look forward to seeing you at the conference!

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Pfaffman (2008) stated that the FOSS movement began with Richard Stallman writing the GNU Manifesto.  The purpose of FOSS is to provide software that is based on the principle of freedom, not just cost.  This freedom comes from being given access to the software’s source code, the files used to create it.  Doing so allows users to not only use the program, but also to study it, change it, and even improve it (p. 26).

Pfaffman (2008) also argued that “FOSS promotes social justice in that it provides free software to end users and an efficient means to develop software for programmers” (p. 26).  Since FOSS is freely redistributable, all students may be given copies to use both at home and school (p. 26).

The Internet itself is built on a foundation of FOSS applications such as the Berkeley Internet Name Daemon (BIND) and the Apache web server (Pfaffman, 2008, p. 26).  Additionally, corporations such as Google make use of FOSS server operating systems to the benefit of the community when their programmers fix problems and give the solutions back to all (p. 26).

For schools, the benefits of FOSS applications go beyond monetary savings.  Not only can teachers and schools provide FOSS software for students to use in the classroom and at home, but FOSS applications also prevent teachers and schools from becoming a part of corporate marketing to students (Pfaffman, 2008, p. 27).  Pfaffman (2008) wrote “when teachers require students to turn in assignments using a proprietary file format like Microsoft Word’s, this implicitly suggests that in order to be a successful student one must buy, know, use, a particular software program” (p. 27).

Pfaffman (2008) went on to say that the FOSS movement is analogous to the development of scientific knowledge.  FOSS and science are both based on the concept of creating shared knowledge and having one’s work adopted by the community at large (p. 27).

Pfaffman (2008) suggested a number of FOSS applications for the science classroom and school in general.  Some of these suggestions included OpenOffice.org, GIMP, the OpenScience Project, and Celestia (p. 29).

The ramifications of FOSS for Lutheran education are significant.  First, the cost savings.  If a Lutheran school wanted to use only free software on their computers, it is very possible.  There are now numerous distributions of Linux that can replace Microsoft Windows and run on just about any computer hardware.  OpenOffice.org is a very mature project that can easily be used in place of other office productivity suites.  FOSS applications also exist for anti-virus, photoediting, video and audio production, servers, and so forth.  By replacing all proprietary software with FOSS, a school can easily save $100 or more per computer per year (based on annual software licensing fees).  Additionally, the school will save staff time previously spent ensuring compliance with software licensing agreements.  Even better, the school will be able to provide students and parents with the exact same software used in the classroom for use at home.

Unfortunately, while FOSS operating systems such as Linux can be used to replace Windows in a school environment, even Pfaffman (2008) admitted that doing so requires a substantial buy-in from someone with technical skills (p. 29).  The good news is that many FOSS projects can be run under a computer’s current operating system, which can still mean a substantial software savings for schools.

The major benefit that I see for Lutheran schools, though, is making sure that we are teaching students how to use technology and not becoming unwilling pawns of corporate marketing divisions.  I have met teachers who have told me in no uncertain terms that they felt teaching students a particular commercial software package was their duty because that is what students will be using in any future careers.  These teachers continued to insist this even when I pointed out that newer versions of the software packages often require complete retraining for users, so that teaching students to use one version of a program will not guarantee they can use future versions, whereas teaching the students a more general approach to computers and applications will ensure they can adapt to any specific software package.

Reference

Pfaffman, J. (2008). Transforming High School Classrooms with Free/Open Source Software: It’s Time for an Open Source Software Revolution. High School Journal, 91(3), 25-31. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

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I enjoyed the list immensely!  I did think how could I fit this to Lutheran Education, since many of us are our own Tech Guys or IT guys.  So I came up with my own list.

The 10 LutheranTech Commandments (in new standard version)

1. Technology must be Christ-Centered.

What does this mean: Everything we do, must be to the glory of God

2. Be a Digital Citizen: No Yelling at or Hitting the Technology.

What does this mean: The output of the tools are dependent on the input.  If it is not turning on, plug it in!

3. Remember to Save.

What does this mean: SAVE EARLY and OFTEN!!!!!

4. Honor the Computer Lab Rules

What does this mean: Be respectful to the rules set forth your use. Read Rob Jacklin’s Learning from the “Rules” Blog Post

5. Do not click on pop-up ads.

What does this mean: When it states you can win a free iPad, it is a lie! You can’t, so don’t click on it, even if you think it is cool.  You could be downloading a virus instead.

6. Filter.

What does this mean:  Although no filter is enough to prevent Satan, keep the net to catch as many bad fish as you can.

7.  Creative Commons Protection.

What does this mean: DO NOT STEAL or download illegal music, pictures, or anything that you did not create.  Ok to use if it has the creative commons attribute.

8. Be a Digital Citizen: No Cyber-bullying.

What does this mean: Behave online as you should behave offline.  You leave a trace, even if you think it is protected.

9.  Appreciate New Tools.

What does this mean: DO NOT BE LIKE ME, who wants everything that is the latest and coolest tool out there.

10. Appreciate those you can learn from.

What does this mean: Use your PLN, Learn from them, but do not be greedy, give back to those who have taught you something.

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Part of that online experience is a tool called Wildlife Filmmaker.  This online tool allows the user to create a short wildlife film using provided video clips, sounds, and music.  The user can also create and add their own captions to the film.

Strengths:

• Video clips provided
• Uses timeline for arranging clips
• Easy-to-learn interface
• No user registration

Weaknesses:

• Inability to save/embed videos
• Interface does unexpected things occasionally
• Email sharing seems to be broken

Wildlife Filmmaker is a fun little tool.  It would be great for younger students to experiment with creating videos, as the video clips are premade.  It might also be a nice introduction to using a timeline-based clip and editing system for older students (Apple’s iMovie uses a very similar system).  Unfortunately, experimentation is probably the only serious classroom use for this Web 2.0 tool, as there is no way to move created videos from the National Geographic server to your own computer or even embedded them in another page.  You can save videos to their server and retrieve them through the use of a numeric code.

This Web 2.0 application is free to use and has no user registration.  You will need a computer with a broadband Internet connection, and Adobe Flash.

If you are interested in seeing my film, click “retrieve saved film” and enter code “681813297″.

So, as the title of my post states- “Are we getting anywhere?”  In teaching?  Well, are we?  I would say yes when it comes to the technologies that are available.  We have so much at our fingertips, literally!  But are we using the technologies to get anywhere?  I sometimes struggle with this.  There are so many websites, devices, software and hardware choices to choose from that it is hard to know what can be of the most benefit to our students.

There are new things to learn, new technologies to try, and students who crave the interaction with these technologies.  They crave engaging learning and interactions.

“It takes time to learn new technologies”

“I have enough to worry about”

“I don’t think I would use it”

So, I ask again- Are we getting anywhere?

Integrating technology isn’t about using technology to teach.  It’s about engaging our students.  It’s about changing something in the way we teach.  Instead of reading about the people in Russia, we can  talk to them via Skype.  Why not engage the students in fractions via You Tube.  It means taking our teaching to the next level.

Does this require some work?  Yes!  When we decided we would be educators, we committed ourselves to life long learning.  And if you didn’t, well…maybe you should take a second look at what you are doing with your life! It is part of the calling of being in education.  There’s learning involved.  What I am writing is probably not a shock to anyone.  However, there aren’t too many who may say it out loud.

Looking back a the photo above, I can tell you that both phones will get us in touch with the people we try to contact.  The old ways of engaging students versus the new ways of technology- both ways will get the information across.   Are we getting anywhere?  Yes, slowly.  However, how we get to where we are going is up to us!

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It stands for 21st Century Lutheran Education. 21CLE is an online conference in its 2nd year. There are speakers across the map. All the presenters love Lutheran Schools and Educators and want to improve Lutheran Schools and Education.

Want to know what the great thing is?

3 of your very own Guild authors will be presenting this year! How great is that!

02/25/10 – 4:00-5:00pm
What Are You Doing?
Kathy Maske
Altamont Lutheran Interparish School

“In our schools today, education is changing. We have more technology than we know what to do with. Our Lutheran schools have the opportunity now more than ever to utilize the same technologies as other schools do via the Internet. There has been an explosion in online, collaborative networking in the last 5 years or so with the introduction of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and other social networking sites. What happens when we utilize these tools in our professional development? Continuous online learning! We now have tools that we, as Lutheran Educators, can use to collaborate with other educators continuously. Whether you are seasoned at networking or are just beginning, sharing is valuable for all.”

02/25/10 – 5:00-6:00pm
Podcast My Class Fast
Daniel Burk
Grace Lutheran Lancaster, CA

“Teachers are afraid to try something new. Podcasts is something that any class and any teacher can utilize in their classroom. We will go step-by-step how easy it is to record and publish a Podcast for your class.”

02/26/10 – 11:00-12:00 noon
Personal Learning Networks and You
Jeremy Biddle
CUW Ed Tech Cohort/Lutheran Educators’ Guild

“Personal Learning Networks [PLNs] are a solution for one of 21st Century education’s most difficult problems: keeping informed of emerging technologies and learning how to utilize them in our classrooms. PLNs tap into the vast array of freely available information via traditional sources (books, newspapers, etc.) and emerging ones (blogs, Twitter, etc.). A PLN, states Dr. Daniel R. Tobin, is a group of people who can guide your learning, point you to learning opportunities, answer your questions, and give you the benefit of their own knowledge and experience. This presentation will provide a starting point for educators to implement their own PLNs. The audience will be provided with a brief presentation on PLNs and their usefulness, suggestions of software to use (along with tutorials/demonstrations of their use), and a categorized list of sources for individual educators to use in beginning their own PLN. The list of sources will be posted online, with the ability for an educator to make their own additions to share.”

If you would like more information head over to http://blog.cuw.edu/21cle/ List of all the presenters are there.  You can also register to attend.

Personally, this will be my first real public presentation.  I have talked in front of my school and church and I have voiced thoughts in conferences before, but to be the focus!  I am a little nervous.  A lot of thoughts of being a student is rushing to my head.  Am I qualify to talk about podcasts? What if I am asked a question I don’t know how to answer.  Will I sound ok?  I kinda hate my voice on recordings.  Just need to breath and pray (A LOT!).

Make sure you join us during the 2010 21CLE, tell your colleagues to watch/listen to the presentations (Think about PD days)  All the sections will be recorded also.  You can check out the 2009 21CLE on the site also.

Make sure you tell your friends about the Guild also.  Plus this is your Guild also.  Make sure you make comments and be part of the forum to go into more depth on any topic that is discussed.

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