Tech Update and Introduction

First Let me introduce myself.  I am your friendly neighborhood Tech Guy.  My name is Jason Wolfe, and I am the Project Specialist for the New Mexico Learning Network, which supports the IDEAL-NM initiative.  my email is jwolfe@nmsu.edu my office phone number is (575) 646-6075.

Now to give you a quick Technology update.  We are in final contract negotiations with the vendor that will be supplying the state wide LMS, and we are hoping to be able to announce who was chosen by the second week in December.  The IDEAL-NM eLearning Service Center just received their new computers, and they are working great (I know cause I installed them).  APS recently purchased the Blog and Wiki tools for BlackBoard, and we are being given access to them for the spring semester.  I will provide more information on this topic coon.  Sorry this has to be short, but I've got circuit boards sparking at me.  Hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving, and a great rest of the week.

JW:)

Learning 2007

I really wanted to go to Elliot Masie's Learning 2007 Conference, but
here's the next best thing - they are wikifying much of the good
stuff. They have added hours of video and
audio content including keynotes from Dan Pink, Jenny Zhu, Bobby Flay,
Wharton Faculty and Ken Blanchard. Check it out at
http://www.learningwiki.com

:)
~julz

Threaded Discussions (rubric)

I enjoyed Edelstein and Edwards article on threaded discussions. Specifically the need for a robust rubric for instructors to use that is also "facilitator" friendly. The authors give examples of two different rubrics and then "test" the second rubric using examples of three different students responses. Intially, I thought that the rubric was robust, but had the potential to not be facilitator friendly. How much time can an instructor devote to each thread of each discussion for each student? Upon review of the student "c"'s response I was amazed that the studen recieved any points at all. Yes the student did respond, and did participate, but did he collaborate or even contribute? Perhaps future rubrics need to put more emphasis on not just participation, but active participation. Participation that shows evidence of growth or learning in the individual or the group as a whole. Sed Keller

Collaboration and Cooperation

While I value the learning achieved through both, I also know the energy level required by the teacher to set up a successful project and keep the groups going. Panitz did a good job of differentiating the two, and I can see that collaboration can be an effective tool for online communities. However, knowing that I need to create carefully crafted collaborative projects as well as ensuring that content is provided, students' learning styles and other needs are met, a community is established, and students/parents/ facilitators are kept informed, sounds like it would take a super-human effort! No wonder the Star Wars theme is appropriate! The one bright spot, however, is that collaboration on projects among students may well create the community, allow others to meet various students' needs, and encourage additional communication/peer teaching to somewhat reduce the load on the instructor of the OLC. (After all, while in a face to face class, everyone may hear a question and answer, or it may be discussed more than once allowing multiple opportunities for success, whereas the online teacher may not be able to provide as many repetitions for all students. Having the record in a threaded discussion, or having other members of a group available to explain may promote more learning.) Of necessity, it seems, teachers of online classes may have to give up the complete control of a cooperative learning experience in a face to face class with a more collaborative approach for online classes.

Collaboration and Problem based learning

Cooperative and collaborative learning are very similar and for the most part can be seen as synonymous. Upon closer examination, cooperative learning focuses more upon a group of students working toward a specific end product, while collaborative learning seems to be concerned with the process a group uses to arrive at a solution. In the first approach, goals and objectives for the lesson come from the teacher, while in the second approach, the group takes a situation and devises a plan for reaching a solution. The collaborative approach often fits best within the structure of problem-based learning. This learning is a method based on carefully chosen problems that require the learner to use critical thinking and problem solving skills, self-directed learning and collaboration. This approach to learning is more open ended as students take an active role in the learning process. Teachers step into a position of facilitator rather than leader in the process. A group of students work together on a question or problem posed by the teacher to arrive at the best possible solution(s). Collaboratively, students often take a greater responsibility in the learning process. They move away from a view of education as something that is done to them toward the perception that they can be both learner and educator. Problem based learning goes beyond the traditional approach of acquiring a body of facts and recalling those disjointed facts on an exam. It forces students to take the information and experience that students already possess and synthesize that into solving an “ill structured” problem. Teachers work to encourage participation, provide the necessary information to keep students on track and coach positive responses. Students and teachers both benefit from the sharing and dividing of tasks in a larger, more complex problem. Roles are taken that both enhance and challenge each individual’s abilities. In this way, problem based learning simulates real life situations where professionals and employees work together on complex and immense projects. Students develop the skills necessary for success in the 21st century workplace.

cooperative learning

Cooperative learning should be used in conjunction with effective instructional strategies that take into account the individual needs and learning styles of each student. In cooperative learning groups, individuals work together to reach common goals. Some of the skills taught in elementary grades include staying with the group, sharing materials, taking turns, encouraging one another, and speaking in quiet voices. One of the best times for students to learn and practice social skills is in cooperative group situations. Collaboration can achieve collective results that the participants would be incapable of accomplishing working alone. Using these two strategies online will create a challenge for the student. It is more difficult to coordinate activities of a virtual group that must work remotely and asynchronously to achieve collaboration, but not impossible. Raynee

Threaded discussions

The articles on threaded discussions state that they can be an excellant tool for the teacher to use in their online courses. This method can be used to set up interaction between teachers and students. However, the articles do stress that teachers must participate to make sure that the students have a positive experience with the discussions. This is done by wording of the topic, posting responses, offering encouragment, and redirection if necessary. These are things that teachers also do in a regular classroom. I understand that it will take practice and trial and error for me as a teacher to learn to make threaded discussion a successful tool for my students. Ruth Shields

Collaborative vs Cooperative Connundrum

Before reading the articles for this week's module, I pretty much thought that the words 'collaborative' and 'cooperative' were about the same and interchangable. It is interesting that they really are not. The biggies that came out to me in Panitz's article were these: Cooperative: Students do the work together over material being covered, but the teacher is still the one in 'control'. Often the 'stepping stone' to collaborative learning... i.e., used in earlier phases of education (whether 'age' wise, or ability-wise). Cooperation stresses the 'product' of the work. Often also deals with 'traditional knowledge'. Collaborative: Students work together in a more 'open ended' setting trying to reach a goal for which they are responsible in achieving, not the teacher. More of a 'personal philosophy' as opposed to a 'classroom technique'. Stresses the 'process' of working together. Collaboration 'ties into the social constructivist movement'. I liked the quote that Panitz included which came from Rocky Rockwood: "...cooperative represents the best means to approach mastery of foundational knowledge. Once students become reasonably conversant, they are ready for collabaorative, ready to discuss and assess..." In the OLC, we will have to evaluate at what level(s) our students are in so that we can assertain whether cooperative learning or collaborative learning would be the best medium for students to work in on various assignments. If they are at a lower level of knowledge, we would be asking for failure from the beginning if we wanted them to 'collaborate' when they had no idea where to start... at the same time, if we are dealing w/ a higher level class, some collaboration would be appripo.

Reflection on Panitz’s

"…Nature of Interactive Learning" by Rebecca Sharpe

Panitz makes an interesting revelation in his study of the nature of interactive learning with his connections between methods and age group appropriateness. Having worked both elementary and secondary levels and having experimented with the capacities and behaviors of these students in relation to cooperative and collaborative learning methods gives me personal insights to the valid points he makes. Cooperative learning best suits the foundational level of students in the early grades, giving them opportunity to solve known problems with predictable outcomes. Collaborative learning best suits older students or at least experienced students who have a capacity to tackle problems with unpredictable, open-ended outcomes.

2 Things 2 Know 2day

ONE – National Distance Learning Week http://ndlw.org starts 2day and NMSU College of Extended Learning is working hard to do its part http://nmsu.pbwiki.com

TWO – The XO Laptop, Give 1 Get 1 started 2day http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php I just bought mine; my son, Jon and I, will be having fun with these over Christmas and two children somewhere in the world will have the opportunity to access knowledge and tools in a way they’ve never had before. Here’s a great vodcast featuring the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) team:

It’s a FABULOUS day! ;) ~julz

Online Collaborative Learning

The vehicle of online learning provides an excellent opportunity to foster collaborative learning. Since the online class cannot participate in a physical group, the learning experience moves away from the cooperative group in which tasks to complete the final project are dictated, divided, and assigned by the teacher to a true collaborative effort in which ideas are shared and discussed by group individuals who take personal responsibility for how much each will contribute to the learning process. In this collaborative effort, it is the members of the online group, not the instructor, that determine how the learning takes place and how the assignment tasks are divided and conquered. The members of the group will set deadlines, assign tasks, and monitor participation. Effective cooperative group work in the early (elementary/middle school) stages of the educational experience will provide the foundation and tools that will prepare the more mature student to be an effective member of a collaborative group.

Vocabulary Voki

Other geometry teachers at PVHS are creating word walls in their classrooms in order to help students retain the meanings of the different terms. My class is trying out the Voki character options for creating an electronic word window. If you would like to watch our progress, please visit us. In the words of a student as he expressed his desire to begin this project, "I am pumped!" I think it is going to be great.

National Distance Learning week Nov. 12-16

The NMSU Office of Distance Education and the RETA Project within the College of Extended Learning (CEL) will host webinars, blogs, chats, an online Moodle open house and other events in honor of the 2007 National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) Nov. 12 -16, http://ndlw.org

The NDLW Webinars http://www.ndlw.org/learners.html will be hosted throughout the week from 9 to 10 a.m. and from noon to 1 p.m. in Milton Hall, Room 185, La Academia.

CEL and RETA offerings are viewable BUT still under construction at:
http://nmsu.pbwiki.com/

Later in the day (today is Friday, November 9, 2007), we will be extending the invitation to our eLearning friends (RETAzens, OTLOzens, eTeachers,
OTLCers, etc.) to join us in a variety of ways. Contributors and attendees will be entered into a drawing at the end of the week.

Online Underwater First! Project SeaCAMEL: Live Broadcasts November 12 - 14

Online Underwater First! Project SeaCAMEL: Live Broadcasts November 12 - 14 Marine Science Classes from the Aquarius Habitat KEY LARGO, Fla., Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Distance learning goes to the extreme November 12 - 14, when Project SeaCAMEL aquanauts go live with high tech marine science classes broadcast from Aquarius, the world's only undersea research station. Live action coral reef science will be a click away for students and ocean enthusiasts around the world via satellite and the Internet from Conch Reef, located 4 miles off Key Largo and 60-feet beneath the sea in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The mission is the first in a series of online sea-to-shore educational programs sponsored by the Maryland-based Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (http://www.seacamel.livingoceansfoundation.org ), a non-profit organization focusing on ocean research and conservation. The university-level science experiments using high-tech undersea tools to collect data will also have broad appeal to younger audiences. Numerous schools, museums, and aquariums across the country, in Mexico and Great Britain are expected to participate. A curriculum for 8th-12th-graders is also available online from project partner Immersion Presents http://www.immersionpresents.org Related Links: http://www.vims.edu/events/ http://www.livingoceansfoundation.org/ http://www.uncw.edu/aquarius/ Project SeaCAMEL Goes Live November 12-14! http://www.seacamel.livingoceansfoundation.org

Let's help change the world, here's one way...

You are receiving this update because I requested a reminder from One Laptop per Child about the limited-time "Give One Get One" program. Starting Monday, November 12 at 6:00am EST, you will be able to donate one XO laptop to a child in the developing world and also receive a laptop for the child in your life, by visiting www.laptopgiving.org or calling toll-free 1-877-70-LAPTOP.

"Give One Get One" is the only time they are making the revolutionary XO laptop available to the public. For a donation of just $399 ($200 of which is tax-deductable), you will be giving the gift of education. Additionally, T-Mobile is offering donors one year of complimentary access to T-Mobile HotSpot locations throughout the United States, which can be used from any Wi-Fi-capable device, including the XO laptop.

I will send another update when the program begins on November 12. I hope
you'll join the mission to bring education and connection to children in even the most remote regions of the globe.

I'm thinking of doing this myself and sharing a laptop with my teen. The free T-Mobile HotSpot and portable, somewhat indestructible mobile device is totally worth it.

Let's spread the word!
:)
~julz

SLOAN-C International Symposium

Are you using technology in cool ways for teaching and learning (think blogs, wikis, moodle, audio/video, etc.) - please submit an abstract to the SLOAN-C International Symposium. SLOAN has traditionally been focused on higher education but now they have said they'd love to see what K12 folks are doing. The upcoming conference is May 7-9, 2008 and is close by in Carefree, Arizona. I'm sure some fun caravanning could be arranged!

Also, check out the social network that SLOAN is working on.

http://www.emergingonlinelearningtechnology.org/

:)
~julz

A Web Event for K12 eTeachers

Thanks to Bethany for this resource. I have attended a Cider event and they do an excellent job with the research. K12ers, let's attend.
:)
~julz

CIDER has the following eLuminate presentation coming up. It's free - all you have to do is become a member of CIDER community (also free). See

http://cider.athabascau.ca/CIDERSessions/

Research Results from BC's Connected Learner's Technology Projects Institution: BCEd Online Date and time: Nov 16, 2007 11:00 AM

What factors help to create effective online learning environments in K-12? In this session, Dr. Elizabeth Childs and Lara Jongedijk will report on the final data from nine provincial Connected Learner's Technology Grant Projects that ran across 18 months and involved 14 school districts in British Columbia. The technologies used in the projects included: webcasting, web-conferencing, synchronous courses using Elluminate Live, use of Smartboards, online tutoring and data archiving. Lessons learned will be discussed and recommendations for making informed decisions when planning and implementing similar technology projects will be shared.

NACOL VSS Conference

Hi Everyone,
Reporting live from Louisville, Kentucky and the VSS Conference. I wanted to let you know that you should visit the NACOL site at http://nacol.org because a lot of cool NEW stuff is being posted, like the updated Keeping Pace report by John Watson. AND I'm not sure if you noticed because I didn't until just now, that some of the events going on are being webcast LIVE using Elluminate! Also, I noticed that last year's webcasts are all there now too.

And I have tried emailing all my groups but the Internet has been up and down so I'm not sure they all went out, so here is my information again. I am blogging to http://juliaparra.blogspot.com and
microblogging at http://twitter.com/desertjul

My friend, Holly is also blogging and she takes better pictures than I do, http://technologyadventures.blogspot.com

Enjoy and Have a FABULOUS day!
:)
~julz

Student e-mail

Hey all- What is your take on student e-mail? Do you use it in your classes? How do you use it in your class? Which e-mail providers do you use/prefer for student use? Doug Byers

Cool Volunteer Site

My friend, Bethany, was telling us about a wonderful site that helps people volunteer at the global level. The site is called Global Vision
International:
http://www.gvi.co.uk/

:)
~julz

The World of Possiblilites

This is the first time since I began teaching that I feel I may be on the cutting edge of discovery. I remember when the internet first became accessible to the general public. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Finally we had information at the tip of our fingers. We could access both valid resources as well as bogus information. To be able to search night or day for information and not be confined to the hours of library is still a very satisfying experience. Now we've improved the internet and can communicate in real time to people all over the world. Talk via our computers, download songs, no longer do we have to buy records (okay I'm dating myself), cd's etc. , we can load them onto our ipods etc. We can use the new technologies to simulate labs, podcast lessons, talk to students via the computer, students that you may or may not meet. I can't help but feel right now, that this is almost as exciting as the first successful mission to the moon. (Okay maybe I'm stretching it but from my standpoint its pretty exciting). The world of possiblities keeps getting better every day Pamela Nuttall

Teachers can use Lijit

I went to the LIjit site and couldn't open up the u-tube videos. The idea of having a one stop shopping for your students to access without the fear of logging into taboo areas would be great. Also, narrowing down the search would really help our students with their research. This seems like it will be a good site so, I plan on checking it out from time to time. Pam I'm still trying to figure out the coolness of Lijit. My new friend Kevin, at Lijit told me the following:

--- a good point to remember about Lijit is that we provide a controllable search engine that lets teachers uniquely build sites students can search (as I mentioned before), instead of the entire web.

Here is an example educator site using the Lijit Search: Global Learners http://principianteglobal.blogspot.com/

On Classroom 2.0: Breaking News: Ning announces ad-free networks for K-12 educators

This is very cool!
:)
~julz

From Steve Hargadon:

“Will post more on this at http://www.classroom20.com and http://education.ning.com later today, but for now details at http://www.stevehargadon.com/2007/11/big-news-from-ning-ad-free-student.html.

Have a great day!  Huge thanks to Ning!

Steve

About Classroom 2.0
The social network for educators using collaborative technologies!

Click here to visit Classroom 2.0!
http://classroom20.ning.com”

Cool Links

My friend, the Lone Eagle shared the following links with me and I thought I'd share them with you: Open Educational Resources - OER Commons And within there: EduForge Happy Day Everyone! :) ~julz