I think I'm starting to get it

My mind seems to be full again so I need to get some stuff out before I go to bed (or more likely play my Xbox 360 until I wake my wife up and then I will pay dearly tomorrow). So, in no particular order, here is what I am thinking tonight:

1. My first principal (Bill Sherven) always used to say, "Work smarter, not harder". Well if that did not come back to me during our last class as one of the primary reasons for social networking. Teachers are always trying to find more time in their day to accomplish the many tasks that are required of them yet the one thing that we don't do is use our time to find contacts who may have already done the tasks for us!

2. Until now I have been very reserved about commenting on other peoples blogs. I thought that these blogs were primarily for our own thoughts and reflections and I did not want to seem too judgmental about what others were experiencing or feeling through our learning process. That changed when I listened to our last class. I appreciated the comments from Dean S. and the others in the chat room that emphasized that the primary purpose of commenting was to expand our social networks and develop the relationships that start by reading blog posts. So, thanks to all that read this and I pledge to do a better job on commenting to other blogs.

3. If you haven't checked out Kelly Christopherson's blog titled Educational Discourse, you really need to do yourself a favour and subscribe. I don't know how he finds time to write but most of his stuff is very thought provoking.

4. I am going to try making my first podcast this weekend for the start of my major project. Wish me luck and if anyone has any tips or pieces of advice I would gladly welcome them.

Ciao for now!
Mathman33

Dr. Seuss & Social Networking

As I was watching TV while eating supper last week I was surprised to learn that there was a connection between Dr. Seuss and our last lesson on Social Networking by Sharon Peters. In Dr. Seuss' book, Horton Hears a Who! one of the messages of the book is that there is a world beyond things that you cannot see. As a beginning teacher I was primarily concerned with surviving. Teaching in a small town and having to prep for 8-10 classes a day I wasn't concerned what was happening outside of my classroom or my school. After a few years I started to get involved in my local teachers' association and eventually I was elected to the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) executive. That experience was incredible. I felt that the walls of my educational community had been blown apart exposing me to the outside world of education (similar to the Shareski photo "No Walls" . Now that I am taking this class, I am having a similar experience. I have been amazed at the number of people and the number of resources that are available for teachers' to use at no expense to the teacher or the school division. Perhaps that is why I am leaning towards creating a series of podcasts that will educate teachers to the various resources that are available online and provide them with a video tutorial on how to use each resource (maybe I am too ambitious but I will find out next week as I try and create my first episode). As I conclude this post I would just like to take the opportunity to thank all of the people who have raised their collective voices that have allowed me to expand my knowledge and realize that there is a world beyond the things that I could not see.

Have a good day!
Mathman 33

When two classes collide

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world". - Mahatma Gandhi

As some of you may know, I am taking two classes this term to finish my degree by April. My other class is an ethics in education class. As I was listening to the recording of Tuesday's session with George Siemens I could not help but think that there was a distinct connection between the two classes that I am taking this term.
I found that many statements caught my attention. Some of which include:

• Knowledge is always in flux
• Ethics is a form of knowledge
• The values are in the technology
• Nature of knowledge is found within its connections
• Modeling + judgment + trust
• Knowledge is a river not a reservoir

In my ethics class, we are investigating if it is possible to come up with a shared ethic for our world. We are struggling with the question on how we are supposed to balance and respect all other viewpoints for the sake of coming up with a common standard of behaviour. I believe this is also a struggle with how we will develop and use technology. Siemens pointed out that our values are inter laden in the technology that is being developed. Therefore, if we wish to change the world we live in, we must be careful in which technologies we support.
Having a technological 'shared ethic' also emphasizes the importance of the social network. The greater the number of connections that we can develop, the more conversations that we can have over what is important and what methods and strategies can be used so that we can be more effective as educators (and citizens of the planet). By working together through our developing social networks we can only deepen and widen the river of knowledge that we are able to access in order to improve our world.

That's all for now.
Mathman33

Influencing Change

I am very aware that change can be a very slow and painful process in education. Change can be slow because of external factors such as budgets and school division policies but it is also slow because some teachers simply feel that what they are doing is good enough and that there is no need to change what they are doing.

Let's face it - most teacher's are creatures of habit. Once they find a good thing, they will continue to use it until they retire. Most teachers will also teach in a manner that is very similar to their preferred learning style. Most of the teachers that we have in our schools did not grow up with technology and we can freely admit that most students know more about technology than we do. It is for those reasons that trying to incorporate technology into effective teaching practices will probably take another generation to accomplish (even though this is hard for me to admit).

In order to influence the change teachers, parents, and central office personnel must become knowledgeable and believe in constructivism. As long as there exists a power structure in education some teachers will never be able to let go of the power and become a learner along with the students. Teachers and administrators will have to become comfortable with a philosophy that allows the teacher to be an expert in some areas, like curriculum, and for the students to be the experts in the technology. Then, working together, effective and meaningful learning can take place for all persons involved.

That's all for now. I think I can get some sleep now.
Mathman33

Constructivism

Too many thoughts are floating around so I have to get them out before I rest for the night. I am thinking about constructivism and how society will end up writing history through blogging, wikis, etc. From prior readings I am aware that many people have claimed that the history that we have learned is the story based from a white male perspective and that certain facts along the way have either been exaggerated or ignored. If social networks will now be responsible for telling our stories I wonder who will eventually control the final version of the stories that we need to tell to the next generation. Will the stories be accurate from all perspectives, or will there exist a controlling power that will have final editorial say to reflect only a certain version of history?

Social Issues

Another week has gone by and I still don't have any answers to the questions that keep floating around in my head. After watching Draper's video "Pay Attention" and completing the other readings I can't help but agree with the philosophy that we must incorporate some of today's more popular "toys" in order to engage our students and create a more positive environment for learning.

However, I must also state that I would have problems as a teacher and an administrator to mandate that every student in my school would require an ipod or a cell phone to participate in class. In every school there are children which contend with the daily burden of poverty and it would be unfair to intentionally exclude these students from the learning experiences simply because they can not afford these new toys.

In a way this has always been a significant issue in education, and it will be an issue that I continue to grapple with throughout my career. I understand that the purpose of technology is to enrich the student experience - yet, how do we do this without increasing the gap between the advantaged student and the disadvantaged student? It is similar to the question many teachers face on a daily basis. How do you engage and challenge the brightest students in your class and still ensure that the experience is relevant and meaningful to the students that find school challenging? In the new reality of standardized testing to determine achievement scores and educational funding, do you spend more time on enriching the student experience or do you spend more time covering the fundamentals in the most time effective way possible so that you or your school does not suffer once the results are published? In a world where education has taken a back seat to health care and highways, where are the resources going to come from to give teachers the necessary knowledge, training and time that they will require to incorporate these skills into their lessons?

My ramblings are over for now. I will be back.

Mathman33

So many cool toys ... so little time to play

I have to admit that before I started this class that I believed that I was up to date on most of the tools that a person might be able to use on the internet. Boy was I wrong! Between Google Reader, del.icio.us, twitter, voice thread and flickr I have been amazed at the number of tools that I did not know existed. I must admit that I am still bewildered by the twitter universe but I think that twitter becomes addictive exponentially when the number of followers you have increases. There was a point in time last week when I spent 15 minutes staring at my computer thinking "now what"? Once I started looking at the big picture I realized that the point is that in order to survive and thrive in whatever world in which you work you must have a support structure or contacts. The more brains that you can pick or the more people that you have to bounce an idea off of, the more likely you are to improve your practice and make a difference where it counts - in your family, in your workplace, or in society.

My favorite site that I have explored to date is Ted.com. I have watched a number of videos and I find each one thought provoking. I know this is one resource that I will continue to watch as I am fascinated by the thought processes of some of the worlds greatest minds.

The first two weeks has been fun and a tremendous learning experience. I am certainly glad that I know my way around a computer and have experimented with a number of the tasks that we have had to complete to date. I only hope that has I move forward from this course is that I make use of the skills that I will learn and that I will not get too preoccupied with other priorities to take time out to play and continue to expand the number of communities to which I can contribute and receive support.

Mathman33