371.3 NECC: Prevent Poisoned PowerPoints

Annette Lamb, one of the presenters from the SIGMS forum presented this session

http://eduscapes.com/sessions/sidekicks

[blogged "live" -excuse rough format]



PPT becomes more of a desktop vs a slide show

1st tip: Prohibit bullets

the learning space and the presentation space

the assignment is in the page...not somewhere else!

also directions to do the activity..even some skill if needed

use the notes box for questions...never to be played as a slideshow

first example was a photo with speech bubbles!

add a sound...record what the person in the picture may say



speech bubble site

voice thread



other speech bubble ideas:

dialog historical figures, brainstorm plot, setting, react to peer pressure, compare science image to student project (dissection of frog), solve architect's geometry dilemma



concern: google the pictures...no mention of copyright or creative commons



Simple templates for primary grades

Grades K-2 Primary Writing Spaces: 1 line (PPT), 2 lines (PPT), 3 lines (PPT), 4 lines (PPT), and 8 lines (PPT).
"Post-it note idea"

Grades 3-12 Notepaper Writing Spaces: Sidepage (PPT), Bottompage (PPT), fullpage (PPT), halfpage (PPT), all 4 in one (PPT) file

keywords and visuals



Image Starters

these will be in additional to Flickr Creative Commons that we have featured in our Student Products for the 21st Century and #5 out of 23 Things

Other countries have archives of pictures--need to investigate this for lists.



Sarah Plain & Tall - example of creating a musical

Colonial Williamsburg job comparison

Character Scrapbooks - Bread & Roses too

bubbles to increase interest in books...draw attention

characters that have been recreated...compare the various pictures

virtual flannel boards



Zany Zoo Keeper

could incorporate Build Your Wild Self

creative thinking and critical thinking

371.3 NECC08 SIGMS Forum: A Discussion of the New Standards

What a thrill! Doug Johnson at our table for a few minutes (mostly because I'm lucky enough to hang out with the "right people.") Joyce Valenza walking by saying good morning! It's ridiculous I know...this -struck, hero-worship feeling I have around these people...they are just people who do some of the same things I do to help kids be successful. Indulge me for a few days and I'll get back to normal.




Standards for 21st Century Learners - A Debate?


Panel made up of Doug Johnson, Joyce Valenza, Annette Lamb, Indiana University professor of Library Information, Gail Dickinson, Old Dominion University, and Marlene Woo-Lun (Linworth), moderator


Can you do the elevator speech for the standards?
Do you have idea how to use them as a tool?
Are you going to ignore and just get your work done? The moderator asked us these questions fully expecting the answers she got.

So she threw out the first question to the panel:
If everyone believes that info literacy is important, should it be graded? How else can we be respected? Do we need a high stakes exam?

JV: we are already doing them...new ways to count them to prove we are; engaging students in rich projects; standards valued in rubrics, picking right tool, resources are validated and credited; students help define rubrics...communication is what students will remember

AL: opportunity, to get hold of those teachers who need to change; what are the connections between the XXX standards and these standards...our job to show that they are already there; authenticity of collaboration, real-world connections, real things with local needs and history. Not a separate test but an infusion. Authentic projects.



Moderator: Infusion does not sound visible



AL: move from all about test scores to life-long learning, creativity...products that reflect that. The time is NOW for us to move to the front as far as leadership.



GD: we can't "bubble" in these standards...but are covered in curriculum standards...they are called standards for learners, not libraries. if we are not happy with the current way, then we need to take these standards and make the necessary changes.



DJ: authentic learning, creativity, 5% of teachers are using...95 the rest, are just happy to do what they are doing....NCLB doesn't ask our kids to do enough...he would like to see legislation that makes more requirements beyond simple reading and writing. critical thinking, problem-solving...need to be mandated.



JV: bigger than the old standards..not just reaserch process, creative member of school team instead...all the craziness (in many libraries these days) has it place and reason for being



One chance to explain:


School library needs to be the center of the party.


How do we use the standards to be the center

GD: we are already doing skills, self assessment, dispositions, ?; teachers' lesson plans do not reflect what goes on in the visit to the library...instead of teacher lesson plans...student learning plans...then what we do and are responsible for the success of, will be visible!

JV: make all plans public

DJ: students, parents, etc can see things now with all the 2.0 tool s available that allow for records, etc to be online and made "public"...plans, learning plans, individual needs plans; getting away from factory model means customization. there should not be one set of plans for a group of students.

AL: Student focus, they are talking it, but not doing....too many students in one class for individualized; we see the big picture...we know how to differentiate on larger scale...we can offer different formats ( list of book formats)

Audience: don't forget the audio version!

AL: don't shelve by format....shelve by content; change the structure of the library by doing this.

JV reads letter (graduate 1998)


Dialog search statements--think and shake things up; citing sources, thinking about problems..what are the skills, beliefs he got

Audience responses:
learning to think
problem solving
work in a team
creativity
enthusiasm
perseverance
resourcefulness

JV: what if we asked students to reflect their product? is that assessment

AL: the use of progress blogs...authentic reflection of growth, inquiry; community is built thru comments and get answers, other ideas. Tell administration" I need 2.0 to do my standards!"

JV: intellectual freedom fight to get these tools available to all...no blocking should be occurring

AL: inquiry with blogs...she makes her students use this method in her class even for personal needs, goals. this is a life-long learning skill...should I do xxx? blog the process.

JV: force students to blog the research process...it becomes transparent...can intervene when becomes problem, frustration..and cheer on success

AL: They need to be system wide, not model-based..access all the time....blog for every class! you don't have to fill out a permission slip to use a pencil...make it where blogs and wikis are the same way!

DJ: safe and appropriate environment; management skills/collaborative skills with IT to insure that parents feel are comfortable. issue of creativity....reasons for not getting their assignments...creativity is there! it's been there! how is it designed, what does it look like? no idea how to measure it. if we want the standards to go...we have to figure out a way.

collaboration in different ways....
what does community look like?

DJ: we have been doing it wrong...it is our motto tho'...we do 1-on-1 with the living...instead, we need to focus...curr commitee, building planning comm...the decision makers ..we have to be at that level.

AL: go outside the school...despite the fears involved. building model projects with outside connections ...they need interaction with community, experts out there...reasons for blogs, emails, etc. walls need to come down...community needs to see the school as part of the community...the library is the logical place to start. LibraryThing prefect safe example ...family uses; AllRecipes.com ...these are social networking places.

GD: we don't do very good job of sharing what we do, promote; ...home is not filtered, independent school often not filtered...we have get the rest unfiltered

JV: policy should be written as we are going to do in a positive form....we are going to take your student on an exciting journey.... let us know if you do not want them on this journey....

two sentences of advice

AL: do not see as another chore...see this as a positive way to get what we want...we can have fun stuff going on....teachers are tired of testing...receptive for fun again. let's have a good time again!

GD: start the conversation..people need to hear all of this...carry them around

DJ: introduced them...they saw things/tasks...comment from group--we can't do these alone, must be a bldg, a district, a state. best practices in content areas say the same things...get more familiar with content areas standards and match to ours.

JV: the year to invent everything...so many buckets and shovels in the sandbox...let the kids in with us...NETS for teachers--we do that ...reinterpret them for teacher/librarians



Questions:

Audience comment: talked about revision of standards in NC...that it is a group project....the librarians are included

Audience: standards in hands of pre-service teachers and administrators--where are we in this idea?
GD: preservice teachers must demo collaboration ...reversely we must do the same with our librarian programs
AL: find away to make student teachers, etc feel a part of the school...involve them thru the library
DJ: technology orientation of pre-service teachers...includes library services as part of the orientation...

Audience: "if we want to keep our jobs" statements disturb her...do we need more assessments for kids?
DJ: we do good things with kids in many things...that is why we need to keep our jobs...who will do what we do if we are gone?
Moderator: do it all in a positive way...how do we become more visible, viable?



Audience: how do we overlay aasl and iste
audience member spoke up: the seven core values are identical
AL:lots of examples...children in action
GD: professional develop standards so they can demonstrate what they want students to know and do
DJ: neither will be adopted as is...they will be used as guide to build a local idea of standards.

Audience: define collaboration a little more...difference between collaboration and conversation


JV: examine the end products, be an assessor as well...do the measuring ...it makes knowing if it worked....my job is to make your life easier! make connections with people who can help....grow your personal network...elephant in the is personalities, do they want to give up


AL: synergy ...give & take, thinking about the individual


DJ: professional learning communities...community norms...maybe we need those for collaboration...who is responsible for what.



The standards are different and are meant to be. They reflect the future and not the Past!



Info available at http://necc2008.ning.com/group/21stcenturyskills/

371.3 NECC08: 2nd Keynote, David Warlick Again!, AND Alan November

Note:
I had some notes about the 2nd keynote address which was a interview by NBC news anchor Lester Holt, who talked with two teachers from Canada, Jim Carleton and Mali Bickley, who turned their teaching careers around and broadened the success of their students (especially with regards to global issues.) There were several great links to what they were doing. I have NO idea where they went! I think it may be when my laptop battery was running down and maybe I thought it was saving and it really wasn't--lame, I know but I have no other excuse...because poof, they are gone!

anyway...here is what I can reconstruct:

I knew about the website My Hero where kids can write about their personal heroes. Didn't know these teachers were behind the project. great 2.0 example for writing! Spanish language version


Children connecting Children

they told a very touching story about their students sending paper doves to a class in Japan to be shared at a peace celebration at the Hiroshima remberance site.

Zerofootprints kids zone

here is one blog posting about the event
more coverage
some background about the speakers

Some NBC 2.0 resources for students
i-Cue NBC News Learn

********************************

Our Students - Our World David Warlick

I like his way of thinking so much...and he delievers his thoughts so well!

His notes for the Presentation
The slides used during the presentation (includes his Second Life avatar!)
Some more information and a very nice picture

some points that stood out for me:
we can not predict the future for our kids...why do we think the old way of teaching/learning will help them. we are predicting them for an unpredictable future.
Globalization is imminent (my thought: despite what some political feelings might be...the world is getting smaller and flatter and closer together) Engineer graduates: 43% in China, 5% in USA.
we are dealing with kids now who have no formative recollection of the 20th century and we insist on using 19th century education methods.
Personal learning networks; social networks--they get it, we don't
Gaming must be a part of learning
these students know how to communicate...in more "languages" than we think--what we have to do is teach them to use the appropriate language/communication skills at the right tme and right circumstances...i.e. there is nothing wrong with cell phone shrthand, but not in a resume; there is nothing wrong with informal speech in a personal blog post, but not in a job interview.
Students should be allowed to be content providers!

3-point Dave
Preparing for unpredicatable future
Networked students
New information landscape

Here is Warlick's view of NECC in an Animoto he uploaded to YouTube (no-won't show in district but most everyone is at home now!) His choice of music...you be the judge!

Yours truly is in that mass of humanity on the stairs!



**********************************************

Alan November



He didn't beat on the table like he did at TLA, but he still conveyed his message loud and clear. The only sad part...he was preaching to the choir! How I wish I could choose some audience members.



In one of the many side, informal conversations I had all week, I was asked if I could have one the 3 speakers -- Warlick, Johnson, or November come to speak to my circle of influence, who would I choose. THAT was a tough and thought-provoking ...because I can only pick one.

They each have their methods of delivery that draw me in; they each have clearly defined messages that reflect my thoughts and make my thoughts clearer to me. They are great story tellers and have great stories to make their points... ok, ok. Alan November...and I really think the table slap in April was the deciding factor. Oops, one more deciding factor--2 Cents and Blue Skunk are required daily reading fo me...and alas, i have not found a daily vehicle for November!



Stand-out statements from his presentation:

The whole story about taking his son to China, the boy's immediate networking back home with everyone but his teachers who turned down his offer to do "something" for the class...what were they thinking! how nuts was that!

In the 80s we thought by now technology would have transformed education

Ownership of learning belongs to the students

11-yr old in China speaks 5 languages...IM is standard business practice in Europe and Asia...it can be written in whole sentences!

In our efforts to protect our children, we are making them unemployable.

we underestimate what kids are capable of.

some online info