This week's Top Ten List

Top Ten Things a Teacher Can Learn on YouTube and TeacherTube
10. You can spend (waste?) hours looking at material on YouTube. The list of related items that comes up after you watch one video is deadly.
9. Husbands take an increased interest in one’s graduate homework when it takes the form of online videos.
8. You can not access YouTube from school computers in our District.
7. The groups on TeacherTube for members may be a great tool for discussion and collaboration.
6. There are a lot of TeacherTube applications and tools that seem to be underused. I joined a discussion group on ‘Digital Storytelling’ this week. I am the second official member.
5. Students are more interested in uploading and creating material than watching someone else’s video on TeacherTube.
4. Most teachers at my school were not previously aware of Teacher Tube.
3. Someone else’s well-executed video on Teacher Tube is better than what I would have made, and saved a tonne of time in planning a motivating kick-off for our school-wide professional development day in October (Shift Happens, Pay Attention).
2. Writing a portion of this blog entry at a lake cabin with no internet access sounds like a lovely idea, but it makes one acutely aware of an impending Web 2.0 addiction
1. In my reflection this week I have truly realized that the power of Web 2.0 is the collaboration and social nature of the tools. Collaboration versus Consumption.

You Too-be can be a part of this community!

This week I truly made TeacherTube and YouTube a part of my repertoire. I spent a Saturday morning watching YouTube videos and eating waffles with my husband, created a TeacherTube account, joined a TeacherTube discussion forum, and introduced a group of colleagues to TeacherTube for use as a professional development tool and as an instructional tool. My colleagues were impressed and overwhelmed by the possibilities, and my husband is just plain impressed at what my coursework entails and at his wife’s capabilities. In fact, my husband, who owns every gaming system available and ‘needs’ to update his computer annually to keep up with the technology believes that every teacher should have access to this university course. And he also mentioned something very interesting about his own internet use. He announced that he "hasn’t used the full capabilities of the internet for over eight years." I was struck that my exploration and excitement of Web 2.0 led this techno-saavy individual to realize that the World Wide Web has advanced since the days when one required knowledge of code to create a website, and that he was interested in being a part of the collaborative online communities that now exist.


My epiphanies this week have not been about the function of YouTube or TeacherTube specifically, but about Web 2.0 as a whole. I have a much greater understanding of the collaborative nature of Web 2.0. Until now I have only appreciated the Internet for two purposes: 1)social contact (three e-mail accounts, and a Facebook account), and 2) as a source for information (we taught ourselves to drywall our kitchen reno online). Now I understand, and am beginning to participate in, the more collaborative nature of information exchange on Web 2.0. There is a powerful sense of ownership and belonging as one ventures into online sharing and publishing, and also an overwhelming sense of responsibility to ensure that my little pieces of the world wide web are updated, accurate, interesting and worthy of all those who may read/view/hear them. The personal and engaging nature of video media is what brought this to life for me, so I owe it to the familiar videostreaming sites YouTube and TeacherTube to reflect upon my experiences and thoughts as a teacher.


In all experiences using TeacherTube and YouTube with my students in the past few weeks, I have acted as researcher and presenter. I have searched at home for appropriate and engaging material for my students, and have presented to the whole class as the intermediary. (It is worth noting here that YouTube is blocked from our District server, so we unable to access the material at school and would need to download and save items of interest to students.) My initial thought while searching from home was of the enormous opportunity to collaborate with other educators online. It was fascinating to see how other teachers have used video/media with their students, and to hear about projects they have done with their classes. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ideas for teaching on TeacherTube, either explicit or implied in their uploads.
As with other videostreaming opportunities, TeacherTube and YouTube bring the outside world into the classroom or home. Access to ideas, representations and experiences of others’ that might not otherwise be possible (due to distance, access to experts or other teachers, cost, etc). My students were intrigued to see several videos, and found one video on math in the real world very interesting (unable to locate name of video). However, some of the amateur videos the students found silly or boring – those which seemed to be posted by an adult and looked and sounded like typical classroom lectures/explanations.
What did intrigue the students was the possibility of uploading their own videos (or a video of their teacher making a fool of herself), and contributing to this online community. I was fascinated by the sense of ownership and power my students felt. It had only occurred to me that I could consume these videos, not create them. As Digital Natives, they got the message (and were ready to respond) well before I did.

This is what is unique about Teacher Tube, You Tube, and Web 2.0 in its entirety. After this week I feel I better understand Tim Berners-Lee intent for the Internet in 1989 (Richardson, 2009). Berners-Lee wanted to create "a collaborative medium, a place where we [could] all meet and read and write." The give and take nature of this media is what sustains it, and draws users to it. It almost creates a living, breathing, changing system. Yet, in being an open and somewhat unstructured environment, there are some negative implications for teachers and students.
At the risk of sounding like a repetitive PC error message, a concern about the technology arises in similar ways as with Flickr and other photosharing sites explored last week. First, is the concern about what students will find on these sites. While TeacherTube is user-monitored for appropriate material, students’ ages, and a multitude of definitions of what is appropriate mean that not all material on this site is appropriate for all students. Although a large part of our work with students must be educating them on suitable searches, in a community such as TeacherTube and, in particular, YouTube, we must be aware of the inappropriate material that does exist. In working with my students at this time, I am comfortable searching for material in advance, and sharing links with my students, or playing the videos as a whole-class viewing activity (perhaps not so different from the old ways of filmstrips selected from the school library). Other videostreaming sources, such as UnitedStreaming, offer material which is pre-screened for quality and topics (including direct links to the curriculum) and may provide equally excellent videos for simply ‘consuming’ video as a medium in the classroom.


In order to distinguish Web 2.0 services such as YouTube from United Streaming, one must take advantage of the social and collective aspects of these sites and contribute to the Web 2.0. I am eager to find authentic ways for my students to share their videos, but at this time, I will need to restrict their projects to Readers’ Theatre or Digital Storytelling-type projects where the students are unidentifiable. The Freedom of Information and Privacy Act and the level of concern from parents is limiting at this time. The other alternative would be for me to post material (who wouldn’t want to emulate ‘Mrs Burk’s Perimeter Rap’ on Teacher Tube?), but I am very hesitant to do so. I don’t have the confidence, material or desire to post a video of myself to Teacher Tube. While I believe whole-heartedly in collaboration in schools, even internationally (I spent a summer working with teachers in Kenya), I’m not sure of the efficacy or need to share with the world on Teacher Tube. A few honest questions:
-Must one believe their idea has been perfected before sharing it with others? Alternatively, what comments must one be prepared to hear if posting on YouTube or TeacherTube?
-Can we really get a complete picture of a class project or activity from a 4-minute post on TeacherTube (TeacherTube - More Than Just A Mvule Tree Book Project)
-How does the value of the material change when a teacher uses a video to springboard or inspire a learning project, versus replacing a real life experience with a video?


The uniqueness of YouTube and Teacher Tube are evident when one joins a group/discussion forum, comments on a video, or uploads their own material. My own journey with this media has not led me far down this path yet. I must challenge myself to continue exploring the possibilities with videosharing, and must continue to seek out authentic and meaningful ways that set these tools apart from the video shelves in our school library. Mike Welsh, in his June 2008 address to the Library of Congress, quotes Stephen Weiswasser of ABC "You aren’t going to turn passive consumers into active trollers on the internet." Well, I have been a consumer, and I’m changing. I’m discovering "new forms of expression, community and identity" in this course, and it is exciting and overwhelming (Michael Wesch, 2008). While Mike Wesch reminds us that we can’t predict where this will go, let it be written here first that I will seek out a project for my students to share a video online. My students deserve to experience the excitement and motivation when others view their work online and comment on their ideas, as I am discovering on this journey.

Time to Play Brings Questions, Answers, Excitement and....More Questions

Top Ten Life Lessons Learned from a Week of Photosharing Exploration
10. It is more exciting to share photos online than to print, sort, stuff them into albums, and dust the albums on a shelf.
9. Uploading photos to Flickr is just as easy as viewing photos on Flickr.
8. I should have known about Flickr when people were pestering me to share my wedding photos. 16 months later is a little late in the digital world!
7. Digital photography has made us all photographers. Digital photosharing has allowed us all to be published photographers.
6. In his podcasts, Lee Lefever can convince anyone about the efficacy of Photosharing sites such as Flickr.
5. You can learn more about a co-worker or longtime friend in ten minutes on their Flickr photostream than you might learn in an entire afternoon in conversation.
4. Great art for one’s home can be found (with copyright permission) on the Internet.
3. School Boards and policy makers are moving at a snail’s pace in relation to the technology.
2. Dads have more ideas about how to use Web 2.0 than we give them credit for.
1. Moms still don’t believe that homework can be done while connected to the Internet.

My Research
I spent a great deal of time on Flickr this week. I received an e-mail from a friend informing me that she had updated her son’s baby photostream, and enjoyed a few minutes looking over her favourites that she had selected to share with friends and family. Through Facebook, I viewed a co-workers photos and was amazed at the professional quality of his work. I gained an even greater appreciation of his work while reading the comments of other photographers from around the world. Before uploading my personal photos for the world to see, I admittedly first watched Lee Lefever’s podcast (http://www.commoncraft.com/photosharing) and was surprised to hear a number of benefits of online photosharing that I hadn’t previously considered. Uploading photos for safekeeping (versus discs or hard drives that may meet demise) was a method of file backup that certainly had not occurred to me. I had also not thought of the inspiration and motivation that would come as a photographer (amateur as I am) when others could view and comment on my work. And then, after some trepidation, I set up my own Flickr account and uploaded a number of photos of my own (search People – stampingjill on http://www.flickr.com)/. Because the Web 2.0 world offers instant gratification and click-button publishing, and the process of inquiry online is scattered at the best of times, my remaining research was admittedly done as I reflected on the process. I found Terry Freedman’s online book "Coming of Age: An Introduction to the NEW worldwide web" had some interesting and postitive comments in photosharing for educators. "Jakespeak," a teacher’s reflective blog (http://jakespeak.blogspot.com/2006/08/is-flickr-appropriate-kids-have-their.html) discussed implications when using Flickr with students, and shared students’ responses and reflections.


The Process
As I reflect on the processes in this week’s exploration of photosharing tools, it is interesting to admit that my research followed my leap into using the technology. It was after I easily uploaded my personal photos of vacations and my wedding that I considered access to the photos and one’s impetus for sharing them so publicly. As teachers, I think it is important to carefully consider these implications, and to make time and space for these discussions and thoughts well before access to the technology is provided. To have the discussion while sitting in front of the "Upload Now!" button on the computer/Blackberry/cell phone screen is foolish and, I imagine, ineffective. Just as we teach students about critically viewing/hearing/reading media, we must assist them in making critical thinking decisions about their own media and internet presence. Students should be aware that many businesses ‘Google’ potential employees as a part of the interview process to see ‘what comes up.’ What we upload and make available for others is, as Lee Lefever points out, a representation of you. We must help students create an accurate and appropriate representation.

This week I found myself genuinely ‘playing’ with the photosharing technologies, as I believe is the intent of this course. It struck me this week that the more I played, the more I understood the technology, and the more I saw its depth and potential applications. I also found myself sharing the techonology with others, which in turn sustained my own interest and excitement. I e-mailed a group of friends and family to let them know that my wedding photos are finally available on Flickr. At my parents’ house for dinner, I showed a friends’ Flickr photos. After watching me explain the photosharing possibilities, my dad politely remarked "So, instead of e-mailing you those photos just now, you’re telling me I should have uploaded them here." Um, yes Dad. That is what I, in my infinite wisdom meant....as I leaned over your shoulder and helped you send me three e-mails, each with only three photos due to the e-mail capacity. Dads are so smart!! I am certain that as I continue to use Flickr, to both view and share photos, I will become more aware of the endless possibilities and applications.

Implications for Teaching
What then, are the implications for my teaching? I am struggling this week with the frustrations and limitations of policy and the Freedom of Information and Privacy act in relation to Web 2.0 in schools. I am still a part of a flurry of e-mails discussing possibilities for blogging with my students, after initiating blogging as an idea last January. To say I am becoming weary about the District’s willingness to use the latest in technology would be accurate. To say I’m frustrated would be honest. To say I’m motivated by this course to push the issue would be accurate, and a saving grace for my students! I believe that there are ways to use Flickr that will motivate students, and take their work (such as Digital Storytelling) to the next level. Terry Freedman ("Coming of Age") would agree. In his book he states "Flickr (and similar tools) help take it all a step further by encouraging and facilitating the cross-fertilization of ideas, and collaboration. That has to be a good thing!" I agree!

I asked myself earlier this week what Flickr does that could not be done via Digital Storytelling, or even good old PowerPoint, and it is the access to global collaboration and cross-fertilization. I am wondering how I could link up with a school in China for our Social Studies unit to effectively view and comment on pictures of culture and ways they meet their needs, while they do the same for our photos. It could be a fascinating and authentic project for students! I will work on finding a school to partner with for such a project in January or February.

Next week, my students and I are walking to a nearby ravine to explore Trees and Forests for our Science topic. If we upload our photos to Flickr, forests, nature enthusiasts and other students could comment on our photos and assist us in identifying and learning about the specimens. With digital cameras on field trips, the possibilities are endless, and the real world experiences are not only capture but, via online photosharing, they are enriched.

In the blog Jakespeak, a high school teacher shares his reflections on using Flickr with students. They also share their responses to the program. They are excited that Flickr has more selection than Google images, although many are copyright protected. Appropriate copyright action would be a necessary lesson for students when using an online photosharing program such as Flickr. As well, a number of the students share that they found inappropriate photos on Flickr. As high school students, many stated that the images were no worse than some they saw in the media. But a number of students and their teacher indicated that they would not use Flickr with elementary students as one can not be sure what search results will include. These students and teacher were reflecting on searching using Flickr, but uploading photos requires even greater reflection. At this time, I plan to upload photos that do not identify specific locations (such as a school/neighbourhood sign) and that do not include any people in the photos. This may greatly limit the usable images, but would be expected given the FOIP expectations of the school district and students’ parents.

I look forward to trying to stimulate online comments and feedback using Flickr with our Trees and Forests field trip this week. I will seek out more opportunities as a teacher to use online photosharing with students this year. At this time, I will use my own Flickr account with my students and act as a facilitator, rather than asking students to navigate the website themselves. My comfort level, and I believe that of my students’ parents, lies in sharing generic, faceless photos, and viewing photos as a class that have been pre-screened by the teacher. But as I have learned through extensive playing this week, as a part of the learning process, I am certain that I will discover new uses and applications that I can bring to my teaching. I look forward to continuing to learn and play; I might even share some photos of the process!

Feeling voyeuristic? View photos of my wedding and recent travels at Flickr.com, and search 'stampingjill' under People.

More details on the photosharing process in the next post.

Blog set-up

A few notes about setting up this blog. I chose to use Blogger for a few reasons:
1. I am familiar with the site after following a friend's trip to New Zealand last summer.
2. The format is very similar to Constant Contact, an e-mail newsletter service I used for a time.
3. I like the security setting to limit viewers. I am investigating the idea of using this service with my students and wanted to try it out here.
4. Let's be honest...there is a pretty template with colours that I like! :)

The set-up was unbelievably easy. On my second visit to the site I followed the steps and set up my own blog. I appreciate that I can return later and change settings, and add and delete options as I wish. Nothing on the Internet seems to be static, and I love that!

I am very curious to see how my view and use of my own blog changes once others start viewing and replying. I think it will be very motivating as a writer. I am also anxious to see my classmates' blogs, and to discover what is enticing or engaging for me on their blogs. There must be an art to setting up a great blog, and I'm quite sure I don't yet know what it is! But, if little old me can succesfully get a blog started, then the tool is pretty user friendly!!

Blog Log

This has been the perfect week for me to do a lot of thinking and research about blogs. Before this course, I have followed travel adventures of friends via blogs, but I haven't (successfully) created my own (somewhere in Cyberspace floats a single blog entry from a few years ago about teaching to which no one is able to reply!). After learning about RSS feeds this week, I might have been better at following blogs if I had known about the tool earlier. It seems an ingenious solution to the 'drifting' phenomenon I sometimes feel online - floating from one site to another, checking an e-mail account, and then the same a few minutes later, only to shut down my computer and then remember to check a friend's blog, restart the computer, find the blog in My Favourites, and discover there is no new entry today. I look forward to using my own feed for this course.
As a grade six teacher this year, one of my challenges is to motivate students to write. I realize now that in grade one, children are eager to please their teacher, and not yet bored of the school processes and hoops. By grade six, they have been asked to do some of these activities dozens of times, and they have come to the conclusion that much of school is completely unrelated to their real life.
Our grade team at my school is hoping to change that this year. Each week we have students write a Friday letter to their parents about the week at school. TWAS (this week at school) has apparently become painful for all involved in the last few years. Students don't want to write, and parents rarely reply to their children's writing. We are considering the idea that a handwritten letter to parents seems difficult and lacks authenticity for students. We are fortunate to have access to 60 wireless laptops at our school on an as-needed basis, and the students are excited to use these as often as possible. I already know from teaching grade one that writing on the laptops is both exciting and easier for students who have difficulty printing, or who find editing challenging (I would venture to say most children in grade one would agree with at least one). Deleting, adding, and moving ideas in a passage are much easier on the computer. In addition, using technology in the classroom seems more closely related with the life students are living - particularly in the affluent neighbourhood in which we are situated. Students live a life of iPods, MSN messaging, e-mail and video games.
So it seems successful teachers must meet students where they are at, and help them to extend opportunities and learning to 'the next level.' As a grade six team, we will approach parents at Meet the Teacher night (a relative dinosaur of an event in the teaching world) about the possibility of creating student blogs this year. We are excited about students writing weekly entries on a password protected blog, which parents/grandparents/aunts and uncles (near or far) can check each Friday/weekend. I am very curious what parent response will be to this idea. As most, if not all, parents at our school are connected to the Internet on a daily basis, we hope that they will be more likely to check the blog than to read another piece of paper that comes home. More importantly, we believe that parents will be more likely to reply to their child's writing, thereby sustaining an authentic purpose for writing each week. The online conversations which we hope will develop are a part of an interesting experiment which I will follow with great interest. If we offer students the technology and appropriate Web 2.0 tools, can we motivate writing and revive a tired tool of communication? How will this tool serve students who otherwise find writing challenging or limiting? What will the style of writing be? I know myself that I have a different tone when writing on a blog or e-mail than I do in an academic paper. As teachers we must clearly outline our purpose(s) and intent before evaluating the tool. What voice is appropriate in the students' writing? Must they still write in traditional letter-writing format? I have a feeling the blogging may take on a life of its own for some students, in the spirit of Web 2.0, I think we must accept this. What we must also accept is that some of the traditional ways of teaching are changing, or in fact are already obselete. As reflective teachers, we must investigate new tools, and new ways of incorporating technology if we are to serve, sustain and engage our students.

I'll keep you 'posted!'

Step 1

Step 1. Create blog

Well, it would appear that my journey into blogging and exploring Web 2.0 has begun. I'm up and running on WebCT (no simple task), the online shipping tracker tells me my textbook is on its way (quickly, please), and now a blog post. Is this how my students feel when I toss them into the Inquiry method of learning?
I have already spent a night wandering about TeacherTube and have started talking to my students about technology in the classroom. Talking with them today I realized that the term 'technology' is almost a moot point for them; their not sure what I'm really talking about. To attempt to encompass so many aspects of their daily lives into one term does seem a little ridiculous. To them, 'technology' is their communciation, entertainment, information, organization, network, and social lifeline. And yet, perhaps not their education.
While the world has changed drastically, the class in which I teach is nearly identical to the one in which I was a student. I have posted a link on our WebCT site to a powerful video called 'Pay Attention' that has forced me to think about this situation. Over the coming weeks in our class, I look forward to exploring the issue, and collecting and discovering ways to bring technology and the 'real world' - their world - into our classroom.
Let the adventure begin!