Connect 2.0

This month we had another interesting discussion about how to use technology to enhance student learning. We started by watching a very short video by Beth Kanter and her son, which demonstrates how to delve deeper into curricular topics by using YouTube in a parent-mediated learning experience:

Watching this short video led to discussion about:

The way that the nature of information and learning has changed. As parents, we are used to looking to books (or other traditional media) for information, but our children and students more frequently reference the interactive, multimedia resources available online. We need to be well-versed in all of these options to be able to facilitate a safe, mediated online experience – especially for our younger children.

Learning can continue outside the classroom with our easy access to a wealth of online resources, but it takes time and digital literacy proficiency to find appropriate information. Not only do adults (teachers and parents) need to learn how to find this information and evaluate it for effectiveness, but they also must model appropriate use for their children.

Our students are increasingly connected – not only to those they see every day, but also to those students they may have moved away from during their international experience. Social Networking websites like Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, and many others, provide a way for students to stay in constant contact – even if they are no longer living in the same city. It is essential for parents to understand this online environment so that they can be involved in their children’s lives, both online and off.

Homework: Join Facebook to see what it’s all about!

Our next session will be Wednesday, January 23rd at 7:30 am in the Learning Hub, please join us!

Two of our grade five classes have just begun an exciting new literacy project!

Ms. H’s and Mrs. R’s classes are learning about 21st Century literacy by reading, writing and communicating via their own individual blogs hosted by Learner Blogs. You can find links to all student blogs here on this blog, or sorted by class on the individual teacher blogs (on the sidebar). Please feel free to read what they are writing and to participate in the conversation. How exciting to see that learning is no longer limited by our classroom doors!

What blogging does for students

“Helps them find a voice

A benefit to educational blogging (and wiki-writing) is the opportunity for the student to find a personal “voice” and to develop individual interests. Much like journal-writing, blogging gives wings to ideas that otherwise may can stay trapped in the mind. Many individuals find that blog-writing changes their lives in a significant way by allowing them to express their ideas in a medium that appears to have life and longevity–and that might find a kindred audience.

Creates enthusiasm for writing and communications

It is not expected that all students will take to blogging (just as not all students enjoy writing), but it is believed that blogging has a unique ability to create enthusiasm for writing and the communication of ideas.

Engages students in conversation and learning

Educational Blogging is more than just being about writing, just like writing is more than just writing business correspondence or a lab report for Chemistry class.Unlike traditional forms of publication that are one-way, when the work is done at the end of the publication process, students can be engaged in ongoing conversations about their ideas and thoughts. This can be threatening for some administrators afraid of endangering children, yet, it brings a reality to the classroom that was not previously possible.

Provides an opportunity to teach about responsible journalism

Because students who are posting blogs reach an audience with their posts, whereas a personal diary can be kept private, students have the opportunity in blogging to learn about the power of the published word. Whereas they might be tempted to criticise or make fun of someone in private conversation or in a diary, they can be taught about responsible journalism, and that the consequences of these kinds of remarks in the new world of the read/write web can be serious and long-lasting.

Empowers students

Student blogging is incredibly empowering in the following ways:

1) Instead of writing as a mechanized approach to empowerment where we learn to write well enough for school and work, we learn to write for life-long learning purposes.

2) Writing and blogging and life are intertwined as difficult issues are exposed and dealt with in a transparent community of voices. Although this type of writing entails risk and trust, growth and teamwork naturally result.

3) Writing and blogging encourage students’ initiative to write, to be engaged at more than just the head level. It involves writing from head and heart. Children often have not learned to do more than live from the heart, while adults have concentrated their efforts on more cerebral approaches. This means adults and children can bridge the gap that exists by writing together, creating a community of writers in their classrooms where there is no pseudo-community, only community where humans write.”

“What Blogging Does for Students.” Support Blogging Wiki. [http://supportblogging.wikispaces.com] Retrieved on 1 December 2006.

Last week Mr. Lamont’s Grade 4 class culminated their active reading workshop with an new 21st century twist.

Active Reading is a reading strategy used to help break down an understand different types of texts. It is made up of four components (Marking-Up the Text, Visualize, Predict and Question) and is taught in grade 4 to help students work with fiction and non-fiction.

This year during the workshop Mr Lamont’s students were asked to model the active reading process using the Smartboard. Each students was given a scanned page from their text and they were asked to go through each of the four active reading steps and show and capture their thinking on the board.

This work was then saved as images and imported into a program called Garageband. This pod-casting program allowed students to record their own voices while answering the question “How does active reading help you read? Students reflected on the active reading process while watching the images of their own work to go a little deeper into what makes this strategy work for them. There was some great thinking and deep questioning going on!

Finally these video pod-casts were posted on a site called Teacher Tube where they were shared with other Grade 4 students and teachers from around the world. The hope was that by sharing their knowledge perhaps others could learn and become better active readers as well. The response has been fantastic as already each of their student videos has been watched over 20 times!

Watch the learning happen! Like many of the projects involving technology in the Elementary School, the focus is always on the curriculum learning outcomes and the technology is used as an engaging and relevant tool that allows teaching and learning to happen in new and exciting ways.

Great job Mr. Lamont’s Class!

Reading and writing = literacy, right?

Reading and writing used to mean pencil and paper, chalk and board, and one author (one source of knowledge) to many readers (receivers of knowledge).

But 21st century reading and writing is different… We now have:

• information constantly at our fingertips
• two way communication
• participatory culture
• multimedia streaming
• easy publishing and contributing ideas

The speed and nature of literacy has changed.

Our students need to learn how to be literate in this new environment. To get us started, we will be using a wide variety of communication tools in our elementary classrooms. Tools include:

• blogs (why?)
• wikis (why?)
• podcasts (why?)
• multimedia (why?)
• social networking (why?)

We are educating 21st century students. Our students need to know how to:

• learn how to find appropriate information,
• learn independently how to utilize the information they find, and
• learn how to communicate their learning to a wider audience.

These skills have become essential in today’s society and will only become even more important as the wealth of information available to us grows every second of every day. At the learning hub we’ve already started to bring exciting and engaging 21st century literacy projects to our students. We can’t wait to see how much they learn!

What a difference one summer can make! Check out our amazing new Elementary Library:

We can’t wait to see you enjoying our new space!