Hello LM_NET colleagues,
Only three responses on the list to this TARGET. One was actually by
phone, so that one is recorded in "note" form!
ORIGINAL QUESTION:
I am interested in hearing the various ways that you either use technology
to collaborate or integrate new technologies into your collaborative
projects K-12. Please don't worry about conforming specifically to the
questions I ask below. Let me know about anything you think of when I ask
about how you're using technology in collaboration!
RESPONSES:
I'm working with a 5th grade teacher on a wiki project. We're going to do
the project in two steps. The first step is to read a picture book (being
decided this week) and introduce wikis to the students. On the wiki they
will respond to discussion questions, create a dictionary for new
words. On the next wiki, they will read a chapter book (Mr, Poppers
Penguins?). Then they will write chapter summaries, a dictionary, possibly
a timeline, possibly a geography/mapping connection, possibly a science
connection with mini-study of penguins, including oral reports. All work
will be posted on the wiki by the students and evaluated by a
rubric. We're still in the collaborative planning stages, but the picture
book part will start this month. I am being guided by Will Richardson's
book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.
***
I would love to be using wikis and blogs for a number of things and have
been pushing, but there is some resistance here. We have a policy that all
websites must be hosted locally. And they don't support PHP or MySQL, which
would allow me to run my own blogs and wikis (when they relax the policy,
I'll be ready). No Wordpress, no Drupal, no Blogger, no Wikimedia, not even
pbwiki. One of the things I've been told is, "Oh, Blackboard has something
like a blog." Right, so our kids are flocking to share their thoughts on
the school Blackboard site's discussion board? Not really.
As a result of this, I'm limited. I have had a great deal of success using
newer but hardly cutting-edge technology. One way we've sort of gotten
around the district mindset is a project I do with the Multimedia
Productions class (sort of like drama class on methamphetamines). The kids
work in teams to identify some technology-related support issue, something
they have to learn how to do. Then they write it up as a "tech tip" and we
work together to post it on the Web. It allows us to have them working with
iPods, cell phones, IM, games, etc., all of which are generally prohibited
during the school day. And their work is live on the Web, which allows us
to bring in issues like copyright and intellectual property in an immediate
way because the "educational purpose" loophole closes up. It's promoted
through a partnership with the district's Media Training Services
department and actually gets used. It's a nice project.
Another example is digital video editing. Obviously video production is as
old a classroom tool as the VCR. But they always have assumed a certain
technical learning curve. I've found that digital editing programs like
Final Cut -- and even simpler programs like iMovie -- are so intuitive that
any child who has ever spent any time with a game interface can figure it
out in less than half an hour. You just sit them down and tell them "this
button does this, that button does another thing, why don't you play with
it for a little while" and when you come back they're showing you features
you didn't know it had. And it becomes a powerful tool for teaching about
narrative. The kids have to ask themselves, "What am I trying to convey in
this scene? How should I do it? What images should I use? Do I need music?
Titles?" They're learning about electronic media, but they're also learning
nuts and bolts of basic communication and storytelling. I did a project a
couple times with a mass-communications teacher at the high school level
where the kids made their own commercials and edited them. It was hilarious
and fun and they learned a ton in the process. They found out (and we found
out) that they understand much more about bias and manipulation than they
get credit for. That's an example where I pushed the editing component on
the teacher and she ended up loving it.
I'm pushing podcasting right now and I think it's going to happen, but
possibly not until the fall. We have a hugely diverse student population,
69 different countries represented. The majority are Central and South
American, but we have 15 kids from Pakistan, 2 from Mongolia, 1 from
Mauritius, etc. I'd like to see them interview each other about their home
cultures and podcast it. Maybe we could even get some grown-ups interviewed
as well. It's going to be great. We just put up a bulletin board showing
all the countries, the flags, and the number of students from each one.
It's been incredible. Every kid through the door stops and looks,
conversations start up -- as well as arguments about whether that's "my
country's real flag," etc.
***
I have done a couple of collaborative projects using wikis and will be
presenting some workshops on this topic in the near future. I have also
worked recently on a multi-media project that used Audacity, Moviemaker,
copyright-free images and music, research, and poetry to create a unique
project.
I use Wikis to create "dynamic" pathfinders that can be changed and updated
quickly.
Two projects I've done are:
Spanish Research Project with Spanish Language Teacher
Focus: Culture and Geography
Recorded info on FORMS
Then created a wiki: yacht racing, dance, fashion, and literature were some
of the topics
Search for royalty-free images on the web
Used online databases
Required MLA citation using NoodleBib
Poetry Project with 8th Grade English Teacher
Uploaded a song to Audacity.
Looked for a poem with the same theme as the song.
Searched for royalty free images to accompany
Next phase of the project:
Search for royalty free music
Write their own poems and pair with music and royalty free images
Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS <mailto:tonibuzzeo@tonibuzzeo.com>
Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year Emerita
Maine Association of School Libraries Board Member
Buxton, ME 04093
http://www.tonibuzzeo.com
Collaborating to Meet Literacy Standards: Teacher/Librarian Partnerships
for K-2 (Linworth 2006) BRAND NEW!
Our Librarian Won't Tell Us ANYTHING! A Mrs. Skorupski Story, illustrated
by Sachiko Yoshikawa (Upstart 2006) BRAND NEW!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
* LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
* LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
* EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/
* LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LM_NET
Mailing List Home