Learning in the Cloud

Here's a video created by English teacher Jen Roberts in which she highlights using cloud computing in the classroom. Which of the tools that she mentions have you tried? What are your thoughts about converting to a cloud-based environment in which student work is no longer kept on paper or stored on a computer or computer network, but rather accessible on the Internet from a variety of sources?



Jen Roberts' Classroom in the Cloud from Jen Roberts on Vimeo.

Jen placed this video on the University of San Diego Department of Learning and Teaching Facebook page. Recently, the University posted that Jen won the Classroom in the Clouds Video Challenge. Jen teaches at Point Loma High School in California. To contact Jen, find her on Twitter @JenRoberts1. In fact, follow her to see how one high school teacher uses Twitter.

The Power of Video to Document Student Learning

Imagine teacher-parent conferences where the child leads the session. Also, consider how a video of the child learning can inform the conference. This video exemplifies those concepts. We see the child reading, discussing her reading process, and self-critiquing her learning. We also hear the teacher discuss the child's progress.




Although some might argue this form of a parent-teacher conference is impractical, is it really?

As we think about how to document student learning, how can we move beyond traditional formats and standardized tests? Do you think a child should be present at the teacher-parent conference?

This video was shared by Jill Thompson on Twitter. Here is the tweet. Jill in another tweet acknowledged the child in the video is in the first grade.

Book a Day Almanac



If you teach elementary school or language arts at any grade level, or are just curious about the stories behind famous books, you will enjoy the Book-a-Day Almanac. Today, the feature was the story-behind the popular children's book, Curious George. Tomorrow, the site will post information about the Diary of Ann Frank. The site is maintained and updated daily by Anita Slivey, an editor at Horn Book, a well-known publishing house in the  field of children's literature. You can subscribe to Book-a- Day-Almanac through Twitter, Facebook, or through a subscription feed. Check out the site, and let us know what you think.


Both images from http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?
blogID=514578381741352890



Digital Media and the Age of Distraction

Not surprisingly, a recent stream of articles and books focus on Internet overload and loss of concentration.  In the blog, "8 Must- Reads About Digital Distraction and Information Overload," David Lavenda gives his list, and the titles alone speak to the concern:

Articles:
"I Can't Think!" - an article in Newsweek.
"Wired for Distraction?" from Time magazine
"Social Media Users Grapple with Information Overload" in USA Today
Your Brain on Computer, a 7-part New York Times special series with titles such as Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction and Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime
Books:
Hamlet's Blackberry by William Powers
The Shallows: What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr (See video interview with the author in next blog.)
The Tyranny of Email: The Four Thousand Year Journey to Your Inbox by John Freeman.
The Information: A History, A Flood, A Theory by James Gleick

Is our online life increasingly distracting us from reading? If so, we might not have time to check any of these readings to comprehend the implications biologically, chemically, socially of our new habits of mind. On the other hand, perhaps there is urgency to reading these pieces to fathom the impact of how our lives are changing.
In the  Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time, its author, David Ulin contends the quiet space needed for reading eludes us in our over-networked times.

What are the risks of living in an overly distracted world, where contemplation, quiet, and sustained reading threaten to be diminished? Have we acquiesced to the distractions, to the small fits of reading online, in chunks, with the classic book as a text slowly diminishing in value and as an activity of mind? Are these changes for the better as some technology gurus proclaim, or are they for the worse as the authors of the named text beseech us to believe?   

Image from Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction , NYT article

Professional Organizations’ Facebook Pages

If you use Facebook, you might want to receive feeds from your professional organizations, or if you prefer, save the URLs in your bookmark folder and access the pages without using a Facebook account. Here are examples of five professional organizations with Facebook pages:

National Council of Teachers of Math at:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/TeachersofMathematics

Spanish Teachers at:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Spanish-Teachers/306012289177

American Association of Teachers of French at:
http://www.facebook.com/AATFrench

International Reading Association at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Reading-Association/8149175108

Read, Write, Think at:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/pages/ReadWriteThinkorg/114708779358

If you check out any of the Facebook pages of a professional organization, let us know your response. If you know of other organizations with Facebook pages, share with us this information.

Blog to Print

In a reversal of the current trend to turn print books into e-books, I just got an "invite" to turn my blog into a printed book in softcover or hardcover for $14.95 and up. I can even elect to include a dedication, probably for additional fee. Wow, we now go both ways: from e-publishing back to printed books, not just from taking printed books and converting them to e-books. This was a shock. Have others heard of turning electronic texts into printed books! I will let you know more if I investigate the offer to convert my blog into a published book. However, the offer makes me wonder, if teachers sponsored blogs with their students, K-12, and then had the full blog published at the end of the year as a book, how would students feel seeing their collaborative work in a book? Any thoughts?

Online Professional Development

I'm posting links to blogs, nings, and podcasts sponsored by the professional organizations in K-12 disciplines. Use the post a "Comment" feature to add to the list, and I will edit this Blog to include your addition. Also, post a "Comment" to let us know how professional blogs and nings contribute to your professionally development extend your repository of teaching ideas.

National Council of Teachers of English Blog
National Council of Teachers of English Ning
National Teachers of Science Association Podcasts
National Council of Teachers of Science Blog
National Council of Teachers of Social Studies Blog
National Council for Social Studies Ning

Also but not blogs or nings:
National Council of Teachers of Math (Middle School Resources)
National Council of Teachers of Math (High School Resources)
National Council of Teachers of Math (Illuminations)

Image from anniesullivan.org

2010 African-American Read-In

The annual International Reading Association (IRA) and National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) are once again sponsoring the Black History Month Read-In, and providing suggestions for activities to do throughout the month. Check out the events and activities. What are your thoughts on NCTE, IRA, and other educational organizations sponsoring suggested activities, lesson plans, and resources in honor of Black History Month? Let us know of other online resources for celebrating Black History Month that you have found. (Photo of Langston Hughes)

Vooks In the Classroom and Beyond

Books with pop-up videos create a new reading experience, and are finding their way into schools. Called Vooks (Video+Books=Vooks) can be read on computers, iphones, iPods, and online. While some experts contend that Vooks, multimedia books, are necessary to lure young readers accustomed to working interactively, others fear the new format forebodes the end of the reading experience as we once knew it. In addition to video feeds, social network tools are also finding intertwined with Vooks.

For instance, HarperCollins has added to its young adult mystery series "The Amanda Project" (check it out) the opportunity for readers to discuss plot hints with one another via an online discussion group, and plans to incorporate readers' comments into character and plot development in future books, making young readers collaborators in the authoring of the book.

The verdict on books with video clips, social networkings features, music loops, and other embedded media is mixed. Read more about the possibilities and responses to it at this article from the Oct.1, 2009 New York Times: "Curling Up with Hybrid Books, Video Included." Within 24 hours, the article had over 100 comments posted. Check the comment section after reading the article to see how readers have responded to the news. Also, check E.W.com's article, video included, at: "What is a Vook and Will It Change the Way You Read?"

What do you see as the potential of Vooks in the educational setting? Will Vooks be welcomed in schools? What do you think will be the reaction of educational reading experts? Some are quoted in the New York Times article. Do you believe that hybrid books are a wave of the future that educators can't deny and need to embrace?

Image from theamandaproject.com

What’s Happening to Our Reading Skills?!

I found this article, Is Google Making Us Stupid, in The Atlantic Monthly and began to wonder about how being online so often is changing our cognitive processing and whether we are finding it harder and harder to concentrate on reading books in print form. The article has two premises: one relates to how spending time online has affected our reading processes and the other is the possibility that the way we think might be speeding up to accommodate working online. There are some interesting parallels made to the way the invention of the printing press changed cognitive processes, as well. Some noted scholars are cited in the article, and some prolific readers are claiming that their brains have changed sufficiently to make it difficult to concentrate on reading full-length books and retain what is read. Here is one comment in the article that sums up one of the premises: “The more [we] use the Web, the more [we] have to fight to stay focused on long pieces of writing.” The article is intriguing, so take the time to read it and comment. The image is taken directly from the article and is attributed to: Illustration by Guy Billout

Are Computers Killing Literarcy Skills?

A major study out of Stanford University suggests the reverse. In fact, computers are helping to build literarcy skill, especially writing skills. Lunsford traced students' writing skills and habits over time. Read a synopsis of the study in an article from Wired magazine: Clive Thompson's on New Literacy. Also, check out this article that appeared in Intelligent Life: We Are All Writers Now. Post your responses.

Reading for Points

Have you heard of the Accelerated Reader program in which students earn points for books they read? Books like the Harry Potter ones receive more points than many classics. The Potter books receive anywhere from 35 to 40 points while Hamlet earns 10 points and Sense and Sensibility garners 30 points. Accelerated Reader is a computerized management program intended to motivate students to read. Students earn a specific number of points for books read outside of school once they complete an online multiple-choice quiz to test their comprehension.

Apparently, the program is used in 75,000 schools nationwide, according to a New York Times article (August 27, 2009). The article notes that program “helps teachers track student reading through computerized comprehension tests and awards students points for books they read based on length and difficulty, as measured by a scientifically researched readability rating.” The site offers 125,000 quizzes on literature.

In your estimation, is a computerized program that assesses students’ reading comprehension and awards points a valuable contribution to education and the promotion of literacy skills?

Access the New York Times article for more information:
Illustration by Ahl & Company