Pam 2.0

It has been more than 3 months...

2008-05-27T21:10:00.002-04:00

Forgive me blog, for it has been more than three months since my last post. I have no real excuse, other than I have been preparing, teaching, presenting, being a mom, wife, and community volunteer. So I need to get back on the "horse" and start blogging again. The only way I know how is to write this silly entry and then get started all over again.

Any input on what my penance should be???

Two Steps Back

2008-02-08T10:11:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I made a presentation to the staff at the high school that I work at. The topic of the presentation was Web 2.0 Tools. It was a short, and casual presentation with the main focus on what things are out there right now. It was a prelude to offering some hour long, one-subject workshops. While we had some really great reactions from some of the teachers I was so disappointed when I found out about what the reaction was in what we call our Faculty Council. The Faculty Council is a a group that meets once per month with the Principal to discuss important issues in the school. They are a group that can create change.

At the Faculy Council meeting following my presentation the topic of technology came up and the reaction was very depressing to me. A few people in the group started discussing how I had wasted their time during a faculty meeting on tools that were worthless to them and that they had no time or desire to use them. That part wasn't very surprising, but what was surprising was that the Principal, the person who asked me to make the presentation, did not address the issue. Instead she listened and nodded her head while they made excuse after excuse of why they shouldn't be held accountable for knowing and using current technology in their classrooms.

I had felt so great about my presentation. It was fun and light and very informative (not just according to me). So I will say again, I can work night and day to educate the staff here about great ways to incorporate technology tools in their curriculum, but until I have like minded administrators, nothing will change. Sniff, sniff.

InspireData...truly inspirational!

2008-01-09T09:45:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, here in NH the state held the Presidential Primary Election. We saw incredible crowds at the polls and broke all kinds of records for voter turnout. All of this is was very exciting. As a way to get the students at my school excited about the election process a social studies teacher and I decided to hold a mock election for the students (grades 9-12). Meanwhile, I was registered to attend a workshop on how to use InspireData (data collection and graphing software by the makers of Kidpiration and Inspiration), during the workshop we were thinking of ideas of how to use this software with our existing curriculum and BINGO a solution to the counting of paper ballots occured to me (well the instructor really gave me the idea).

One of the great features of InspireData is that you can hold an online survey and then import the data directly into a document. Once you have imported all of the data you can then analyze the data by creating several types of graphs. The cool thing about the graphs is that all you have to do change the X and Y criteria for the graph, and the data will change right before your eyes. You actually see all of the data moving from one spot on the graph to another according to the criteria you choose. It is great!

So, overall it was a huge success. We were able to hold a mock election quite easily, analyze the data in several different ways and report our findings quickly and without too much fuss. We did have a few surveys that were not filled out correctly, but I think I can figure out how to fix that problem...so we can do it again in November!

To Blog or Not to Blog...

2007-12-07T16:31:00.000-05:00

Once per quarter I create a Technology Newsletter for the staff at the high school where I teach. As I was putting it together today I was thinking...is this something I should turn into a blog? It seems like a perfect way to get teachers talking about technology and how they use it in their classrooms, but my concern is that no one will participate. How can I get teachers blogging? How do I inspire them to read and talk about technology and how they use it? How can I make a difference?

It is funny. If this were my students I would just do it (I already have them blogging). Why is it so hard to put it out there with my peers?

Inspiration

2007-12-03T20:59:00.000-05:00

Last week I attended and presented at the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference. My partner in crime...Pam Harland, added this to our presentation Wikis that Work and I'll tell you it got me ready for EVERYTHING!

I'm So Excited

2007-11-26T20:55:00.000-05:00

It has been over a month since my last entry. Man this blogging stuff can get away from you fast! The past month has flown by!

I am presenting at the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference in Nashua, NH tomorrow and have found myself so inspired! It is fun to think about what I do and how I can share that with other teachers, then when I think about what I will be learning from all of the teachers I meet and talk to...I'm totally blown away, excited!

Hopefully I will be gaining some regular blog readers tomorrow and that will lead to me blogging more regularly...that really is the trick...regular posts. I just need to keep at it.

Here's to being inspired and to inspiring!

Blogging

2007-10-15T11:14:00.000-04:00

One of the things that I have done over the past couple of weeks is to get my students blogging. Most of them have had little or no experience at all in the blogging world so I have started slow with them and kept it simple. In my computer essentials (basic computers) and keyboarding classes I have changed my weekly written assignment to a post each week. Students have just started to realize how important it is to read all the other comments to the blog and implement them into their response. I have been really pleased with how the posts have been going. I hope to add a bit more blogging next semester. My hope is to get students to read a blog about something they are interested in and start contributing to it. Does anyone have experience with that? I'd be interested in hearing other people's experience.

Here are the links to the two classroom blogs that my kids are contributing to:

Computer Essentials
Keyboarding

I love Animoto

2007-10-04T13:46:00.001-04:00

Over the past week I have shown my students how to use this and they have just gone crazy for it.

Wiki Update

2007-10-03T13:45:00.000-04:00

Well, my kids really got into using the wiki. Since my assignment was really basic...recreate the school's web site using a wiki...I found that my students still just wanted to make a static website but in the form of a wiki. But truly, I think that is just because of the way I shaped the assignment. So I will give them another assignment with a wiki that will guide them in a more collaborative direction. Hopefully giving them some basic experience with a wiki will allow them to go further with the next assignment. I have not framed the assignment yet, so I'll let you know when I get to that.

If anyone has any ideas let me know.

Here is the link to the wiki. Notice that students used Animoto to add some videos to the site. I feel like it was a bit much, but the kids had a lot of fun creating them, so I went with it.

So, I guess it wasn't totally successful, but in the end I'm glad I started showing the students how to use a wiki and have them talk about wikis and how they can be used. I had them post their thoughts on a class blog too...check it out.

Wiki Wiki

2007-09-21T20:33:00.000-04:00

Well, I still have not gotten to a podcast...but it is still on my list! The new (to my classroom) tool that I will be using next week is a wiki. I have used wikis before, but never with my students. I'm not really sure why I haven't use them with students, but this week I realized that I needed to update one of my lessons, so on Monday I will be doing my first official Web 2.0 lesson with my new students, and then I will show them wikis.

I'm really anxious to see how they react to it. Will they seem bored by it? Or will they think it is fun? You never know with high school students. I think the key will be my ability to help them see how they could use wikis in their lives.

We started this week with a discussion of Wikipedia, they examined pages, followed discussions behind the pages and compared the quality within Wikipedia. It was eye opening for all of us. I think they are starting to understand the value of Wikipedia and how it can fit into their learning experience.

So the assignment I am giving my students is to recreate the school's website using a wiki. They will work collaboratively to gather information and make the changes that they deem necessary. I have created a couple of pages as a starting point and as a demonstration tool. Here is what I created and I'll update you when the students finish their projects.

http://orhs.pbwiki.com/

Wish me luck and send any comments or feedback you think would be helpful.

Have You Seen This?

2007-09-11T18:08:00.000-04:00

My school librarian sent this to me today. I thought it was great. I am still processing it, and not really sure what to say other than...WOW.

A Step In The Right Direction

2007-09-05T19:53:00.001-04:00

Well since my last post I have been able to get my computer lab up and running and can now concentrate on curriculum again. PHEW!

My last post left me feeling frustrated with school filter's and the lack of knowledge that many "techies" have of education. Today was a better day. As I told you, I have been contemplating how I am going to get a conversation going about Web 2.0 and the great tools we have available to us...as long as the filter lets us use them...today someone else started the conversation for me! It was a dream come true! The school's librarian posed a question about what is being blocked and what the purpose was for the blocked sites, so now it will be on the agenda of the next Technology Committee meeting (a meeting where each area of the school is represented). I can't wait for the meeting, I feel like I have so much to say. What would you say if you had the chance?

Road Block

2007-08-28T18:52:00.000-04:00

Well, school is back in session. Today was the last of two "teacher workshop" days and the students will arrive tomorrow. I can't wait to see all of the students. I have been brainstorming so many cool things that I want to do with my students this year; podcasts, blogs and other social networking tools. Unfortunately I have spent the last week trying to get someone to help me get things working in my room. Software that needs special permissions to work, software that just does not work on our network and on top of that, all of the sites I want to use with my students are blocked by our school's filter. GRRRRRR. So today I am feeling a bit defeated.

I need to make a list of priorities. One, get all of the essential software running. Two, get the "nice to have" software running. Three, get the sites unblocked. Number three is going to take some work. Unfortunately we have a tech department that is comprised of people who put technology before education. I'm not quite sure how to get the point across that the students needs are the key to everything. I am a classroom teacher, and in their minds we do not know what we are talking about when it comes to technology.

So my question is...how can I start the conversation that we need to look at curriculum needs, student needs and how social networking fits in to all of this? Oh, right and to have the conversation with the policy makers? I'm not sure where to begin.

Collaboration!!!

2007-08-17T09:22:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I had a great day hanging out with a great educator. My friend Pam (yes her name is Pam too) and I used to work together, but now live and work on opposite sides of our state. Every now and again we get to see each other and yesterday was one of those days. We drank coffee, shopped, had lunch and amidst all of that we talked "shop." In a few moments over lunch and talking in the parking lot near our cars I did more collaboration than I did in an entire month at school last year! We talked about using ePortfolios, Movie Maker, blogging, MySpace, Schoopy and how we plan to use them in the coming months. I think it is so important to find someone like this that you can share ideas, and plan cool stuff with. Luckily, Pam and I are able to meet face to face from time to time but when we can't meet face to face we use email, Twitter and IM as our means of communication and now we have added blogging and MySpace to the mix. If you don't have a friend that inspires you professionally, you need to find one! Someone who can help you go places you might be afraid to go...if you didn't have that friend. That is what Pam had done for me! And even though we do not work together in the same school we still share and help each other often. Thanks Pam!

I'm Starting To Get It Now!

2007-08-01T20:08:00.000-04:00

I have been reading David Warlick's and Will Richardson's blogs for the past week and really getting inspired! But just today David Warlick asked an important question...what do blogs replace? I agreed with the other readers that responded...nothing really. Blogs just add something new, not only to education but also to how we see the world and how we interact with it. Ten years ago I would only know someone like David Warlick if I were lucky enough to work in a district that hired him to come in a talk, but today I know of him because of the blogs I read...they lead me to him and I'm really glad they did!

So how am I going to use this information to help me become a better teacher? Well, I think I have to remember that these important tools that we are using and modeling for our students must be used for a reason, they don't have to replace anything, but they do have to have a purpose, they need to solve a problem we have in our lives or they need to help us understand the world around us in a meaningful way.

The first problem I am going to try and solve in my classroom is how to fill-in students who are absent for an important lecture or demonstration...Podcast! I'll let you know how it goes once school gets started!

What's The Point???

2007-07-25T14:00:00.000-04:00

The purpose of this blog is to collaborate and share ideas about using technology in the classroom and in your personal life to do really cool stuff. Over the past few years I have really felt a strong desire to reach out and find other people who are doing or want to do different things with technology. I am so tired of seeing my students only create PowerPoint presentations when there are so many new and creative ways to communicate. Now students can share, not only with their classmates, but with the world! It is very exciting but also very new (especially to educators).

So here is my blog. I will post what I am doing and share all of the materials that I create. I hope that you will share what you are doing too! Let's get started on this amazing journey.