We had another great Parent Technology Coffee Morning last week! We started by watching another video called Information R/Evolution, by Kansas State University professor, Michael Wesch:
The video demonstrates the different ways that we are able to access, use and create information in the digital age. Professor Wesch focuses on the needs of our students learning in this digital world, compared to our own experiences with more traditional management of paper-based information. As you might expect, this video prompted some interesting discussion. Here are a few highlights:
First and foremost we discussed the need for students to learn how to filter the massive amounts of information that we all have at our fingertips for everything from accuracy to bias to relevance to date of publication.
We talked about the need for students to be not only seekers of information, but also content creators. Their world revolves around creation (think YouTube), we need to be providing these same kinds of experiences in the classroom to teach them how to appropriately use these tools for educational purposes.
Jeff shared some effective searching strategies for using Google more effectively. You can watch a short video of similar (plus more!) very easy, very effective searching tips directly from Google, or download this one-page help sheet.
We also spent some time introducing our new library catalog system, Destiny. Tara shared some special tricks on how to do a visual search (perfect for our younger learners), as well as how to search the pre-screened websites (organized by age-level appropriateness) called WebPath Express, that comes as part of the Destiny catalog.
Thank you to all of the parents who took time out of their busy day to attend this monthly session! We so enjoy learning with you and sharing new and exciting ideas from our ISB 21st Century Literacy Team!
Our next meeting will be February 4, 2009 at 7:30 am in the Learning Hub Project Zone. Topic: Social Networking: This session will be an introduction to the uses of social networking in the classroom, as well as a demonstration of some of the social networks that our students regularly use (for example Club Penguin).
We have updated our current library catalog to a new and improved system called Destiny. Destiny has tons of fantastic features for our students, including:
Book covers shown in search results (like on Amazon.com)
Related web searching, sites grouped according to grade level (when you search for a topic, the catalog will not only find our books, but also age-appropriate websites)
Rating system using stars (coming soon)
Book reviews to be authored by students (coming soon)
Check out the new and improved library catalog (from home or from school) here: http://eshub.isb.ac.th
We hope you will enjoy all of these new great features!
We had another excellent discussion at our Parent Technology Coffee Morning this week. This time around we watched two videos about the way students learn today, which is drastically different than the ways we learned when we were in school.
The fist video, A Vision of Students Today, was produced by a Micheal Wesch, a university professor in the US, with his Digital Ethnography class.
Although this video directly addresses university students, many of the points raised were equally relevant to our younger learners.
This video was also the inspiration for the second video we watched, A Vision of K-12 Students Today, which specifically addresses the needs of primary and secondary school students.
Both videos helped prompt a discussion about new and exciting ways to engage our 21st century learners here at ISB.
We talked about:
How quickly students are able to learn and work with these new tools. Although it may take longer for adults to use them (for example to take notes and highlight and add graphics), it’s very often the quickest and easiest way for our students to accomplish their tasks. Providing methods for students to use these tools within the classroom environment is critical to their engagement in their learning.
Along with embracing new tools, it is equally critical to remember that we need to achieve balance. Running and playing with other children (in the real world) is an important part of socialization and relationship-building. It is becoming a bigger task for parents to ensure that their children enjoy a successful balance between both worlds.
Although it is important for students to have basic knowledge, it is in the application of this knowledge to actually create something new that students can truly express their understanding. It is important for schools to provide multiple formats for the application of knowledge (some including technology, and some emphasizing other aspects of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intellegences) in order to provide balance, and to reach and engage all learners.
As usual, we had a lively discussion and we hope you will join us next time! Our next session is:
Wednesday, December 3rd: Information R/evolution: This session will be an introduction to the different ways that information is shared, stored, managed and found in our web 2.0 world. We will also offer a brief overview of the new library catalog, Destiny.
Did you know you can download any videos you find online from KeepVid? All you need is the website address (URL) for the video you would like to download, and this website create a web link you can right-click on to download the video!
ISB subscribes to a number of fantastic reading resources, and one of our favorites is Tumble Books!
Tumble Books is an online collection of electronic books (e-books), animated, talking picture books from a well-rounded selection of authors. We used Tumble Books in the Tech Zone during our first Starbooks evening and are proud to announce that it is now available from home through our ISB subscription.
Check the ES Learning Hub bulletin board for the username and password!
We had quite a lively discussion about online safety and responsibility this morning at our monthly Parent Technology Coffee Morning. We watched two US public service announcements about online safety and responsibility that we regularly show to students here in the ES to prompt discussion about appropriate behavior online.
Both videos prompt great discussions for students, parents and teachers. Some of the interesting points that came up during our discussion today were:
One of the most powerful ways we can help children understand about the need for responsible behavior online is to have these kinds of open conversations both at home and at school. Keeping the lines of communication open is critical to help children understand how to stay safe online.
Although technology is changing so fast, it’s important to note that parents already have all the skills and life experiences needed to guide their children through their online experiences. Basic common sense that applies to real life (don’t talk to strangers) can also be transferred directly to the online world. Although children may be more quickly able to use online tools, they still need the thoughtful guidance of their parents to help them determine what is appropriate behavior.
When these videos are shown at school (in grades 3 – 5, if/when a class begins an online project) we develop questions to help us make the best choices when we share and learn online. The questions that students develop demonstrate such thoughtful and deep understanding of online behavior that it is clear that these experiences are a part of their daily life. One question always comes up in every class: What will other people think of me if they see this?
We also discussed “red flag” warning signs for online safety. Here are a few things to watch for: anyone asking to meet your child in person, anyone asking to send your child anything through the mail, anyone asking to give your child a gift or to get specific contact information.
“Red flag” warning signs for cyberbullying can be: a child who usually loves to be on the computer suddenly doesn’t want to go anywhere near it (this could be a sign of being bullied), a child who is constantly online, snickering or laughing or shouting at the computer (could be a sign of a child acting as a bully).
As usual, we had a fabulous discussion. Thank you so much to all of the parents who take time out of their day to attend these monthly sessions.
Our next sessions will be:
Wednesday, November 5th: A Vision of Students Today: This session will be an introduction to the ways in which students learn differently than their parents did.
Wednesday, December 3rd: Information R/evolution: This session will be an introduction to the different ways that information is shared, stored, managed and found in our web 2.0 world.
Did you know you can download any videos you find online from KeepVid? All you need is the website address (URL) for the video you would like to download, and this website create a web link you can right-click on to download the video!
Our second Parent Technology Coffee Morning will be on Wednesday, October 1st at 7:30 am in the Project Zone of the ES Learning Hub.
This month we will be discussing online safety and responsibility. We will show two great videos that we actually use with students in classes to model the type of discussions that we are having in school, and to provide conversations prompts for parents at home. We’ll also be sharing helpful tips for turning on Google Safe Search and setting up filters on your computers at home (here are a few great hints from Google to get you started).
To help you plan for future Parent Technology Coffee Mornings, here is our plan for the rest of the calendar year:
Wednesday, November 5th: A Vision of Students Today: This session will be an introduction to the ways in which students learn differently than their parents did.
Wednesday, December 3rd: Information R/evolution: This session will be an introduction to the different ways that information is shared, stored, managed and found in our web 2.0 world.
As usual a summary of all of our discussions will be posted here on the Connect 2.0 blog for any parents that might not be able to attend.
We are so excited to be approaching our first Starbooks event of the school year!
When: September 25, 2008 from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Where: The ES Learning Hub Why: To celebrate a love of reading
Basically, Starbooks is an evening event for all students and families in the ES to come to the Learning Hub and celebrate reading. In the past, we have had over a hundred people attending! This is a great way to connect with other families around a love of reading!
We have several activities planned for our upcoming evening:
Art & Reading: Draw your favorite place to read in the Project Zone!
Cozy Time: Cuddle up with your family to read a great book in the Reading Zone!
E-books: Explore our interactive e-books in the Tech Zone!
Reading Around the World: Listen to a fabulous story read aloud in either Dutch, Hebrew, Spanish or Thai in the Amphitheater Zone!
Each family will have the opportunity to rotate through each activity over the course of the evening.
The timeline of our evening will run as follows:
6:30 – 6:40: Welcome and Introductions
6:40 – 6:50: First Activity
6:50 – 7:00: Second Activity
7:00 – 7:10: Third Activity
7:10 – 7: 20: Fourth Activity
7:20 – 7:30: Closing and Thank You
Thank you to all of the parents who were able to attend our first Coffee Morning in the Learning Hub! We had a great turnout with a fantastic discussion!
For those of you that were not able to attend, or those who would like to review some of the topics we discussed, we will always post a “recap” of the session here on the Connect 2.0 blog. Please feel free to add your comments and questions so we can keep the sessions relevant to you.
The goal of these sessions is to continue to strengthen the home-school connection, to help educate parents about the exciting changes that technology brings to our world, and to provide an open forum for dialog about how to learn with these new tools.
This week’s session was a great overview and introduction to the changes happening in our society today. We sparked some excellent discussion with this version of the Did You Know? video originally posted by Karl Fish in August 2006:
We want to hear from you! Please feel free to ask questions, share resources, post links or just give us your feedback in the comments section.
Next Meeting Info: These Coffee Morning sessions will take place on the first Wednesday of every month in Project Zone of the Learning Hub. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, October 1st at 7:30 am and we will be discussing online safety and appropriate online behavior. We hope to see you there!
We would like to take a moment to explain the rationale behind the pass system being piloted in the ES Learning Hub.
Firstly, it is our sincere wish that all students, teachers and parents feel welcome in the Hub. Our main goal is to provide a dynamic space in which a number of classes can hold various learning activities related to literacy, technology and the classroom curriculum.
An ideal library is one that is filled with warmth and one that fosters a passion for reading. Watching students give recommendations to each other, guiding students in discovering books that inspire them, and helping teachers enhance their curriculum with great literature are all highlights of any student’s library experience. This is how we envision our Learning Hub to be used by all community members on a regular basis – as a home for reading and active learning.
On average, there were about 60 students per recess time, and, due to the elementary schedule, the staggered recess times span from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., which is a large portion of the school day. At the same time as recess is happening, there are scheduled classes, and the disruptions were frequent and numerous.
In order to create a more manageable learning environment in the Hub without closing the space several days per week, we developed a pass system in collaboration with our administrative team, as well as gathering input from teachers. The pass system is intended to be a compromise, allowing us to keep the Hub open everyday and yet also allowing us to hold classes effectively. The purpose is to ensure that the Learning Hub is an optimal learning environment throughout the day – including our recess periods which run from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm.
In addition to the new pass system, students continue to have multiple opportunities each day to access the Hub for reading and relaxing, or just to check out books:
Grades Pre-K to 2 have a weekly lesson and checkout with the librarian.
Grades 3-5 now have a fixed checkout time once a rotation where they come to the Hub for checkout and a reading time.
The Hub is open to all with no need for passes from 6:30-7:30 a.m. and again from 2:00-3:30 p.m. We have also let classroom teachers know that we will always make an exception for students with special circumstances.
The pass system is being tested for 30 days. At the end of 30 days, our plan is to solicit formal feedback from teachers, students and parents and make changes accordingly. In the meantime, we have been asking students and teachers informally how they feel about the new changes to the Hub.
Here is what we have seen and heard so far since implementing the pass program:
Immediately, the Hub changed into a learning space with scheduled classes being held without disruption.
There are far fewer students than we anticipated using the passes. When we questioned a number of teachers about why this is happening, many teachers responded that students aren’t fighting for the passes as we predicted they would. Generally speaking, the same students want the library passes everyday, although some specific classes have told us they need more passes. This tells us that these are the students who truly want to use the space for reading during recess times.
Students have told us that they want to come to the Hub with a group of friends, not in pairs. This tells us that we may need to increase the number of passes per class at the end of our trial period.
A number of teachers have commented that they did not bring their classes to the Hub last year because the numbers and noise were so great that they could not have a class lesson. Those same teachers have commented that they are happy with the change because they have been bringing their classes into the Hub for learning activities without recess disruption.
Again, we would like to stress that our goal is to create an optimal learning space for all elementary students, not to make them feel unwelcome. All change is difficult, and we realize this is a big change to past practice. But just as we are constantly reevaluating our teaching practices and goals, we are reevaluating the use of the Hub and moving forward with changes to make it the best environment for all students’ learning at all times of the day.
Please feel free to contact us, Tara Ethridge or Kim Cofino if you would like to further talk about the rationale for these changes.
We’re just about one month away from the fabulous, the exciting, the thrilling, Starbooks@YourLibrary!
Please mark your calendars: on Thursday, September 25th from 6:30 – 7:30 pm, the Learning Hub will host the first (of two) Starbooks evenings this year.
These events are a fabulous celebration of reading with a variety of activities run by teachers and parents. Last year both Starbooks evenings were a huge hit! We hope to see such an amazing turnout again this year!
More info to follow in next week’s Panther Paws and here on the Connect 2.0 blog!
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