SLATE 2012 LIVE TWEET EXPERIENCE

BACKGROUND

After completing AWSD and WASDA’s Amplified Administrators course taught by Brad Saron, I was excited about the culminating activity -  attending the 2012 Wisconsin SLATE convention and using Twitter to “live tweet” the convention with our hashtag: #ampedadmin.   Previously our class had spent a great deal of time creating accounts and learning how to navigate Twitter. We mined educational sites and set-up feeds using Google Reader and would tweet out items of interest to fellow class members at our leisure.

However, that was all in slow motion. I had not yet had the experience of trying to “live tweet” from a conference.  Nor did I understand what should be tweeted or how this was to be done in real time.  

I decided to “practice”.

A LEARNING CURVE

In early November, I was attending a “Convening Conference” sponsored by The Institute at CESA 1. They announced that the conference could be “live tweeted” using the hashtag  #C12012. I decided this was my opportunity. I usually use my computer to take notes, so I had a word document open. I decided to open Twitter on another tab. I navigated to #C12012 and saw that some people started tweeting the obligatory “Excited to be at…”, so I checked in with my bland “I’m here at the conference, too” statement, whatever it was, still not sure why anyone cared.

As the keynote speaker began, I noticed a number of people tweeting out some of the main points that were being made. Being a novice, I had a hard time juggling. When I heard something profound, I would diligently type it into twitter. But by the time I had reduced it to the 140 characters and included the hashtags, I had missed a ton of what the speaker was saying and seemed to be out of step with my tweets. I noticed there was a particular tweeter that seemed spot on and always beat me to the “tweet” with something more profound than I was going to offer. Meanwhile, I had lost some important points that I wanted to get down in my notes for further reference. After a bit of fumbling, it hit me. I still wanted to take some notes on my word document, but this would also provide an excellent source for me to quickly cut and paste items of interest into a “tweet”. I found this practice to work. I was less concerned about “getting something into twitter” and more at ease with the mechanics of going from one source to another. It still was a little overwhelming trying to keep up with the Twitter feeds, but I noticed that if I missed something that I wanted to quickly jot down, it was likely that someone would put it in a tweet within a minute or so. I was "getting" how this could be a source of “community notes” about the event.

TWEETING at SLATE 2012

Armed with my newfound technique, I was excited to be at SLATE and to get into the “buzz” of the twittersphere. I still liked the idea of having notes about things that I found important, but wanted to know what other people thought was important, too.

Logging into #SLATE2012, I found a number of classmates who had “checked in”. At this conference of over 500 people, I immediately felt as though I was with a number of friends, even though I had not actually seen any of them yet.  It was interesting to read the tweets during the keynote presentations, as we were all hearing the same thing but commenting from our own perspectives. Equally interesting was during the break-out sessions. I could gather information from a number of different sessions beyond the one I was attending based on the tweets being sent out by others. It was amazing how much more information I was able to come away with than I had been able to at other conferences I had attending without tweeting.  I felt much more like a participant.

There were a number of important things that I experienced due to “live tweeting” at this conference.

-          Access to resources – Speakers often talked about certain resources during presentations. Invariably, someone would tweet out a link to the resource the speaker was talking about. I found many useful links this way and also found myself “Googling” sources and tweeting them out for other people.
(Example tweets: Julie Mathiesen talking about free on-line textbook resources http://www.ck12.org/  #slate2012 #ampedadmin, WI Digital Learning Day - Feb 6 https://sites.google.com/a/dpi.wi.gov/wisconsin-digital-learning-day/ …#slate2012 #ampedadmin)

-          Better resources than the presenter – In some cases, issues that the audience had brought up were addressed better by tweets from the audience than by what the presenter was able to offer.  This truly shows the power of a network. Obviously, presenters are prepared for certain things and can easily be put on the spot if questions go in a different direction. However, audience participants have vast expereinces and resources that can be easily shared through this format.

-          Learning about people’s passions – It was exciting to see what drew the interest of the crowd and whether it matched what I was thinking. Here was a tweet that was sent both by me and one of my classmates:  Ruston Hurley: “You have my permission to innovate WILDLY”

-          Colleagues at home “watching” – A number of teachers in the district weren’t able to attend SLATE 2012, but said they’d be “following the conference on Twitter”. It was interesting to know that they were able to experience the conference in some way, even without attending. I was also able to dialog with them about it upon my return. 

A FINAL CONNECTION

I came away feeling particularly appreciative of the skills I learned in the Amplified Administrator class and especially connected to “live tweeting” by my experience during a presentation by Julie Mathiesen. She was listing and describing “Load-Bearing Walls of Education”. I found these interesting and was copying them into my notes. Periodically, I’d check back in Twitter to see what was being said about this presentation. One of the tweets asked, “Did anyone get Julie’s Load-Bearing Walls list?” I had just typed them into a word document, but knew it was more than the 140 character limit on Twitter. In class, we had learned how to “blog” and had created our own “blogpages”. I quickly created a blog of Julie Mathiesen’s – Load-Bearing Walls of Education and tweeted my blogpage out to #SLATE2012. Sure enough, within minutes of asking, this conference participant who had requested this information had it at her fingertips and responded with a generous thank you tweet. I felt content in knowing that I was beginning to understand and experience richer learning opportunities through Professional Learning Networks and the use of technology.   

Computational Thinking: A Digital Age Skill for Everyone

http://www.iste.org/learn/computational-thinking

Technology and the Common Core: What is Wisconsin DPI Working on Right Now?

What is DPI working on right now?

 - Agenda 2017 supports digital learning, innovation and career and college readiness
 - Wisconsin Digital Learning Plan
 - Wisconsin Digital Learning Advisory
 - WISELearn digital learning repository (maybe connected to Smarter Balanced Assessment)
 - Open Education Resource Project
 - National collaboration on search meta-tagging project for effective searching
 - Keyboarding and computational skill awareness to meet increased technology demands of all grades
 - Vetting resources for alignment with Common Core State Standards and coordinate state efforts for implementation of quality learning materials
 - WI Digital Learning Day Activities

Julie Mathiesen's Load-Bearing Walls of Education

Weight Bearing Walls for Tinkering with Transformation: 
• Grade Levels
• Courses/Curriculum
• Class Periods/Bell Schedule
• Students assigned to Classrooms
• Textbooks
• ABC Grading System/Student Evaluation
• Learning Happens in Schools/Space
• Learning Happens in nine Months/Time
• Report Cards/Informing Parents
• Paper and Pencil Orientation

Which load bearing walls can we change, shift, substitute, eliminate?

Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology

Source: http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html

Next Generation Learning Community

History in a Minute

http://revision3.com/melodysheep/ourstoryin1minute via Melody Sheep

How do the attributes of the "Connected Educator” 

relate to the characteristics of the PLC?

Being “connected” is all about developing a Personal Learning Network (PLN) which informs your Professional Learning Community (PLC). The "Connected Educator" creates a PLN that provides pathways for: seeking out, following, sharing with, contributing to, and relying on groups that have common interests.

“Education” loosely defines the common interest that we as educators share, however, there are many aspects of education which might be one’s focus at any given time (i.e., organizational culture, curricula, materials, learning styles, technology applications, research, assessments, etc.). The importance of developing a PLN is that this network webs in many directions allowing one to make connections with those interested in the specific component about which information is desired at that moment. Each member of the PLN brings unique experiences and interests which allows connections to be made based on these. One is able to tap into and explore rich resources that others bring to the table due to their own interests or experiences on the topic. The more “connected” an individual becomes, the more likely there are people somewhere in the network who have knowledge, understanding and experience with a given topic in which an individual finds him or herself interested or in need of information.

Being a “contributor” to the conversation is the best way to develop this network. Sharing of one’s own ideas, opinions, experiences and resources helps others who are looking for this type of information.  If one is contributing, this individual is being noticed by others in the group and is more likely to be “followed”. Creating followers and following others builds the PLN, thus opening one up to a larger base of contributors.  A “connected educator” should desire to build an extensive Personal Learning Network in order to have ready access to those with common experiences. This will allow the individual to both validate their own experiences and grow from suggestions provided by others in similar situations or with related knowledge.

Common Mistakes When Forming PLCs

Hat Tip to: http://www.weareteachers.com

Are you a tech savvy educator? 

Check how many of the top 100 Tools for Learning you are aware of?

 Tools for Learning 2012 from Jane Hart

Education Initiative Traffic Control Center

http://xkcd.com/1116/

Stay in Appropriate Lane and Obey Your Signal 
Lane One - RtI Highway
Lane Two - 21st Century Way
Lane Three - Race to the Top Raceway
Lane Four - Personalized Learning Lane
Lane Five -  WISEdash Way
Lane Six - Assessment Alley
Lane Seven - Move to Lane One

 In The Connected Educator, Learning and Leading in a Digital Age, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Lani Ritter Hall have created a haven for educators trying to envision technology use in the classroom beyond "acquiring hardware" and "learning how to operate computer programs".

"Technology offers constant opportunities for self-directed and self-selected learning. Educators -through connections with each other, new research, and continually evolving content - have opportunities to interact, reflect, and focus without control by experts."

This book has opened my eyes to how technology can provide professional learning through "connections", in contrast to simply providing easy access to "content". It also helps me understand how traditional "staff development" must evolve past "sit and get" and into - self-directed and connected - exploring, sharing, and learning.

The authors describe three components in this new view of learning with and from colleagues: Professional Learning Communities (PLC), Personal Learning Networks (PLN), and Communities of Practice (CoP).

Professional Learning Communities (PLC)

- Local community
- Team focused
- Traditional school-based structures
- Teachers and administrators learn together
- Focus on specific, identified needs of the school/student
- Identifying what works for their students
- Distributed leadership
- Technology tools may be used to connect/collaborate
- Might create a digital footprint for the school showing growth and change

I see the importance of this approach and have worked hard to promote and support PLCs in my building. Recent examples include: a) teams for data analysis and establishment of goals for the school,  b) teacher participation in book studies about inquiry-based learning and reading and writing connections in the classroom to transform their own teaching practices, and c) teachers working in grade level teams to learn about and implement RtI practices. The collegiality and professional growth of the teachers in all of these instances has been spectacular!

Personalized Learning Network (PLN)

"Connected learning is understanding the power of collaborating and acting collectively...But most importantly, connected learning is about building professional networks to help you, throughout your professional career, reflect deeply and prod others to do the same."

- Global world-wide network 

- Individual focused

- Designed by individual to further short- and long-range goals

- Gathering of information and sharing of resources

- Self-directed

- Technology used to connect globally, monitor constantly changing information

- Must master use of digital tools

- Exposed to a great deal of thoughts and ideas

This semester a group of interested teachers in my school will begin to build Personalized Learning Networks by exploring Web 2.0 tools that can be of use in their classrooms. The teachers will learn the use of Diigo and Symbaloo for archiving and sharing useful information about Web 2.0 tools. This approach barely scratches the surface of establishing a PLN, however, it will serve as an introduction into Internet searching and the sharing of resources through social media. It is "dipping ones toes" in the ever growing stream of free resources and interactions available and applicable to any learning community.

Communities of Practice (CoP)

- On-line, global diverse community
- Like-minded individuals with shared domain of interest
- Deepen understandings and interact on an on-going basis
- Systems of collective critical inquiry
- Reflection based on the building of a shared identity
- Collective intelligence developed over time
- Shared domain of interest
- Collective competence among equals who are skillful and talented
- Shared practice or common sense of purpose
- Sustained practitioners.
- Reject the expectation that teachers (or students) will acquire the same body of knowledge at the same time
- Sum of collected knowledge is greater than the sum of individual knowledge
- Move beyond tasks and data interpretation
- Knowledge construction "in a group"

Admittedly, I am in the exploration stages of being "a Connected Educator" and have not reached the CoP level in my journey, YET!

It is certainly intriguing to be heading in this direction. But, it also seems overwhelming both in terms of learning how a community such as this spawns and evolves and in terms of committing the time (and acquiring the confidence) needed to contribute and help nurture this type to the community. I wonder how those "steady contributors" find the time in between all the daily demands of the school day and commitment to family and life outside of work?

My first thoughts about the power of networks and communities were very pragmatic. What "sites" or "tools" are available to pass on to teachers that will be of use in their classrooms. I know this is extremely important to teachers. They need to have things that can be put to use Monday morning. As I have begun to explore and develop a PLN, I am seeing larger issues discussed and questions raised that help formulate thought about education as a whole - deeper insights about the complex world of education and the constant need to adapt, adjust and explore. This is professionally stimulating, beyond the tasks required to get through the day.

A hurdle that I must overcome is the idea that I have to keep up with everything that I start to follow. The information and dialog fly by in a constant stream. I need to learn how to "dip" into it from time to time and "net" useful information as it passes, instead of thinking I can keep up with the constant flood. I know that I will be missing information as my Google Reader advertises the hundreds of data tid-bids of those I've chosen to "follow". However, I am able to conduct searches and consult with colleagues using social media to help with information on an "as needed" or "now desired" basis.

In the past I would read, copy, and save articles or parts of books and retrieve information based on files, folders and piles of accumulating paper. The actual task of warehousing these physical materials at times became daunting.  However, I am learning how to explore electronic media and tag articles using programs such as Diigo which allow me to archive and share at the same time.  Access is quite literally at ones fingertips and amazingly simple to share with others having similar interests.

With each week that passes, my understanding of social media deepens. Finding and gathering information becomes easier and connecting with others and posting thoughts and ideas becomes less frightening. It is invigorating to explore RSS feeds, Web 2.0 tools, blogs, and tweets of fellow professionals excited about and committed to education. If not yet a full-fledged "Connected Educator", I am certainly a "Connecting Educator".  

How are we preparing our students?

Ampedadmin 2 Class at work

Working on Blogger during our Saturday morning class.

MUKWONAGO TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY (June 12 - 15, 2012)- This week 122 teachers from Southeast Wisconsin gathered in the Mukwonago Area School District to hone their technology skills and learn from colleagues. The Mukwonago Technology Academy, in association with Wisconsin Education Innovations, hosts this annual week-long professional development opportunity to promote the following goals: 1. Increase use of technology for learning 2. Provide time to work on creating lessons for actual use 3. Provide time to reflect and collaborate with colleagues 4. Establish learning communities of teachers.

Thoughts on ISTE Essential Conditions

ISTE’s ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS: NECESSARY CONDITIONS TO EFFECTIVELY LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY FOR LEARNING provides an excellent outline for districts to truly understand, and to challenge, their commitment in the use of technology education. The first component is that of developing a shared vision, which is extremely important and a huge challenge. Knowledge and comfort levels of the participants in this process will be quite varied. I think a “chicken and egg” scenario exists in determining whether the existence of a vision assists with setting direction, albeit naïve, or whether prior exploration and experience with technology is necessary to better inform the vision. Envisioning without experience is difficult, yet obtaining commitment and articulating direction, without everyone’s understanding, can be equally limiting. Developing a vision when participants have had too little experience limits the scope of understanding. Yet waiting to become more familiar with possibilities inhibits progress in a unifying direction. Leadership and planning are also critical factors in setting a course to follow. Interest seems to be there with the teachers, students and community. However, having time to “develop” this vision, especially among the many groups that need to participate in the dialog is an onerous task. The stake-holders need to be ready to put time and resources in and struggle with difficult decisions about how far out of the box, conceptually and financially, they want to extent. Having a plan is critical. It has been difficult in our district to focus on a consistent plan. The original plan included too many isolated skills that were separated from the classroom curriculum. We were about to head in the direction of adopting ISTE standards, when they announced a revision. Wisconsin DPI is also coming out with a draft of their standards, which goes beyond the ISTE standards. Without a clear plan students are left with a hodgepodge of experiences driven by how interested the teacher happens to be in technology. Our district invested in “Wireless” for all students K-12, which I believe was a very wise decision. This is the best tool to provide teachers with real integration and use of technology. It is necessary for “Any-time, Any-where” learning. The initial launch was chaotic, as expected. The network bogged down and problem areas needed to be identified to determine how this venture could stay up and running. It is clear that we continue to need to increase bandwidth, which has been a source of much frustration. There is an application process in our state which can only occur at given times in the year. The district is committed to the funds necessary but must “qualify” for the increased bandwidth. There will be a continual need for increased bandwidth, and I worry that the “approval process” won’t keep up with the need, causing teachers to abandon particularly innovative instructional opportunities. Staff development will be extremely important for administrators, teachers, and technicians. Groups such as #Amped Admin provide a sources of support for administrators in understanding the complexities and with envisioning the possibilities of integrating technology into their schools. Teachers will need ample opportunities to reconfigure their approach to teaching. A huge paradigm shift takes place when one begins to truly understand accessing information and communicating in a “technology rich” environment. Social media, Web 2.0 options, and even storing and accessing information using “tags” instead of nesting a series of folders is a gigantic shift in thinking. Time and resources need to be committed to supporting and nurturing these new patterns of thinking. Similarly, IT department staffing and ongoing staff development will continue to be an important aspect of a school’s success. This is the group that must understand the “back end” of all the technology necessary for teachers to transform their teaching to allow students to become 21st century learners. Plus, they need to be able to support teachers and administrators who will continue to “push the envelope”. Theirs is also a daunting task. Just as we have come to expect technology to be used in medical fields and production industries to keep patients alive and to produce “smart” cars, we must challenge educators to embrace technology and leverage its use in developing well-rounded, “intelligent” students. The ISTE Necessary Conditions document provides a realistic look at what this will take.

My friend Tim Kief from #AmpedAdmin shared an awesome idea that he uses in his school. Tim records the announcements and then posts them for students, parents and community members to listen to at their leisure. He has hundreds of listeners! In class he came upon the idea of posting these on his blog instead of webpage so more viewers are directed there. Tim - I also love the type of announcements you are doing, recognizing students for their learning efforts in such a positive manner!

Stop For Science

"STOP for Science" is a building-wide enrichment program consisting of a series of posters and accompanying questions designed to pique student interest in science concepts and their application to the world in which we live.

iPhone 5

Collection of Web 2.0 Sites for Schools

View more presentations from Sacha Chua

VIDEO EXCHANGE BETWEEN 

ASTROPHYSICIST 

and 

FIRST GRADERS

A class of first graders in my school spent 20 minutes today engaged in an on-line video-room dialog with a scientist, 1,000 miles away! The scientist, conveniently, was my brother Dr. Pat Slane - Astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian for Astrophysics.
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~slane/PSlane/Pat_Slane.html 

Running Vidyo Desktop software, we connected in a live feed using a simple Ipevo document camera and basic handheld microphone. We projected the video cast on a Smartboard. 


Pat spent about 10 minutes describing his work and what it is like to be a scientist:

• Background: CHANDRA X-RAY telescope that was launched into space via a space shuttle in 1999.
• Work Includes:  Collecting information about space from this telescope and traveling throughout the world sharing with other scientists what has been learned.

This was followed by 10 minutes of questions and answers:

• What do you like about being a scientist?   
• What did you like to read when you were little?
• What planets have you traveled to? (These are 1st graders)
• What is the weather like in Boston? (asking from Wisconsin)
• Do you have the same type of flowers outside as we do in Wisconsin?

The exchange was exciting for the students (as well as for the scientist). The students were eager to watch this live interaction unfold on the Smartboard and proud to step up to the camera and microphone to "ask their important questions" directly to a scientist who was taking time from his work to exchange ideas with them. They learned about an exciting career and about life in a different part of the United States. 

What an excellent opportunity technology has brought to our students. Thank you to Mrs. K. for her interest in providing this experience for our 1st graders. 

Example of work from Chandra X-Ray Observatory:

Cosmic Hand - PSR B1509-58: A Young Pulsar Shows its Hand

Stop for Science is a FREE science enrichment program for grades K-6 (could be used through 8th grade). It is made up of a series of  Science Topic Outreach Posters , accompanying question sheets, classroom background materials and suggested classroom activities.

Program description, Webinar clips, and ordering information can be found at:

http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/stop/